black line

independent news

black line

FRIDAY — NOVEMBER 2, 2012 — ISSUE NO. 530

black line

Paging and Wireless Messaging Home Page image Newsletter Archive image Carrier Directory image Recommended Products and Services
imageimageimageimage
Reference Papers Consulting Glossary of Terms Send an e-mail to Brad Dye

black line

Dear Friends of Wireless Messaging,

I have found a lot of news about the effects of Hurricane Sandy on wireless communications, so I decided to send the newsletter out one day early.

So no editorials this week and no newsletter from our friends at BloostonLaw since they worked from their homes for a couple of days due to the hurricane.

black line

CAN YOU HELP THIS READER?

A reader is looking for some Glenayre RL453 Receivers. Please click here if you know of any available.

black line

Now on to the news.

Wayne County, Illinois Weather

black line

Wireless Messaging News
  • Location-Based Services
  • Emergency Radio Communications
  • Wireless Messaging
  • Critical Messaging
  • Telemetry
  • Paging
  • WiMAX
  • Wi-Fi
WIRELESS
wireless logo medium
MESSAGING

black line

Wireless Messaging News
This is a weekly newsletter about Wireless Messaging. You are receiving this because I believe you have requested it. This is not a SPAM. If you have received this message in error, or you are no longer interested in these topics, please click here then click on "send" and you will be promptly removed from the mailing list.

black line

About Us

A new issue of The Wireless Messaging Newsletter is posted on the web each week. A notification goes out by e-mail to subscribers on most Fridays around noon central US time. The notification message has a link to the actual newsletter on the web. 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 Messaging 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 Messaging 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.

black line

Editorial Policy

Editorial Opinion pieces present only the opinions of the author. They do not necessarily reflect the views of any of advertisers or supporters. This newsletter is independent of any trade association.

black line

left arrow

You can help support the Wireless Messaging News by clicking on the PayPal Donate button above.

Voluntary Reader Support

Newspapers generally cost 75¢ a copy and they hardly ever mention paging. If you receive some benefit from this publication maybe you would like to help support it financially? A donation of $25.00 would represent approximately 50¢ a copy for one year. If you are willing and able, please click on the PayPal Donate button above.

black line

pagerman

black line

Subscriptions

signup left arrow CLICK HERE

CLICK ON THE LOGO ABOVE FOR A FREE NEWSLETTER SUBSCRIPTION

free There is no charge for subscription and there are no membership restrictions. It's all about staying up-to-date with business trends and technology.

black line

lopok

Newsletter Advertising

advertise here

If you are reading this, your potential customers are probably reading it as well.

black line

The Dean Mercer Memorial Fund:

www.DeanMercerMemorial.com left arrow

black line

Wireless Messaging News

made on a mac

black line

ADVERTISERS SUPPORTING THE NEWSLETTER

black line

Please Support Our Advertisers
They Make This Newsletter Possible

Advertiser Index

American Messaging
Critical Response Systems
Daviscomms USA
Easy Solutions
Hahntech-USA
Hark Technologies
Ira Wiesenfeld & Associates
Ivycorp
Leavitt Communications
Preferred Wireless
Prism Paging
Ron Mercer — Paging & Wireless Network Planners LLC
PSSI — Product Support Services
Critical Alert Systems d/b/a Northeast, UCOM & Teletouch Paging
WiPath Communications
(Saving this one for your company.)

black line

FCC on Sandy: Cell service likely to get worse before it gets better

The Federal Communications Commission said today that 25 percent of cellular sites are down in 10 states affected by superstorm Sandy.

by Marguerite Reardon
October 30, 2012 1:52 PM PDT
c|net News

sandy

Hurricane Sandy, as seen from the International Space Station.
(Credit: NASA)

Cellphone service in superstorm Sandy's path is likely to get worse before it gets better, the Federal Communications Commission said today.

"This was and still is a devastating storm with a serious impact on our nation's communications infrastructure," FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said during a conference call with press this afternoon. "The storm is not over. And our assumption is that communications outages could get worse before they get better, particularly for mobile networks because of the flooding and loss of power."

Genachowski said that as of 10 a.m. ET today, 25 percent of the nation's wireless companies' cell sites were not operational in 158 counties in 10 states from Virginia to Massachusetts. This information comes from the carriers themselves, which report outages to the FCC as part of the agency's Disaster Information Reporting System (DIRS).

Cable operators in that same area also reported that about 25 percent of consumers were without broadband and other services this morning. The agency said outages for landline phones are much less widespread.

hudson

The Hudson River on Monday afternoon on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, as Hurricane Sandy approaches.
(Credit: Marguerite Reardon/CNET)

Genachowski and David Turetsky, who is the FCC's public safety and home security bureau chief, explained that the number of cell sites and cable customers without service was greater in areas where there has been more storm damage. And they emphasized that the storm is still ongoing as it travels westward to states such as Michigan. And they are expecting more disruptions as the storm progresses.

The officials wouldn't comment specifically on how many wireless customers have been affected by the outages. But they said service is likely to get worse for customers before it gets better. Even customers who may have service now in some affected areas could be without it in the coming days as backup batteries run out of power.

The main issue affecting the restoration of service to cell sites is the fact that commercial power may be out for several days or even weeks in some areas. Between 7 million to 8 million people are reportedly without power in areas affected by the hurricane, officials said.

Some cell sites have already been running on backup power. But the FCC was unable to say exactly how many. Still, the commercial power issues mean that these sites could also go down in the next day or so, especially if repair crews are unable to get to sites that need battery replacements and generators that need refueling.

The agency said that other cell sites were damaged by flooding and that some have also been damaged by snow.

It's difficult to asses how many wireless customers may be be without service, since some users may get signals from nearby cell towers, officials said. But Genachowski noted that diminished capacity is likely to put a strain on the entire wireless network. He recommended that anyone in these areas use 911 only when it's an emergency. And he urged the public to use text messaging and social media to let loved ones know they're all right, instead of lengthy phone conversations that could tie up the wireless network.

"We've seen broadband and social media continue to play an important role in communication for people during this storm," he said. "Social media is a critical platform for sharing information with loved ones. And it's been vital in keeping those other communications networks open for first responders."

The FCC also reported that there have been a small number of 911 call centers affected by the storm. The agency didn't give an exact number but said a very small number of call centers were unable to be reached, and there were some 911 call centers that had their calls transferred or rerouted to a predetermined backup call center.

"911 continuity is absolutely vital," said Genachowski. "We take these issues very seriously. And we're looking into how we can help. The FCC's emergency response team has been working with FEMA and state and local officials to resolve these issues."

marguerite reardon Marguerite Reardon
Marguerite Reardon has been a CNET News reporter since 2004, covering cell phone services, broadband, citywide Wi-Fi, the Net neutrality debate, as well as the ongoing consolidation of the phone companies.
Source: c|net News

black line

black line

Daviscomms USA

black line

daviscomms PAGERS & Telemetry Devices
FLEX & POCSAG

(12.5 kHz or 25 kHz - POCSAG)

br502 numeric
Br502 Numeric

br802 front
Br802
Alphanumeric

tmrp-1
Telemetry

 

Contract Manufacturing Services
Board Level to complete “Turn-Key”

Bob Popow
Scottsdale, AZ
www.daviscommsusa.com
480-515-2344

 

Daviscomms (S) Pte Ltd-Bronze Member-CMA

New e-mail address:
bobpopow@daviscommsusa.com

black line

Daviscomms USA

black line

black line

Easy Solutions

black line

easy solutions

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.

  • We treat our customers like family. We don't just fix problems...
    • We recommend and implement better cost effective solutions.
  • We are not just another vendor — We are a part of your team.
    • All the advantages of high priced full time employment without the cost.
  • We are not in the Technical Services business...
    • We are in the Customer Satisfaction business.

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
E-mail: vaughan@easysolutions4you.com

black line

Easy Solutions

black line

American Messaging

black line

amsi

black line

American Messaging

black line

black line

All four major US wireless carriers enable stolen cellphone database

Summary: Smartphones are expensive if you need to replace a stolen one and today we finally see the four major US wireless carriers launch a joint database that will allow them to track and disable phones.

By Matthew Miller for Smartphones and Cell Phones
November 1, 2012 — 13:51 GMT (06:51 PDT)

If you have AT&T and T-Mobile, it was easy for a thief to steal your phone and then pop the SIM out to resell it to someone else. Sprint and Verizon are more difficult, unless they are new LTE devices with a SIM, because they are provisioned through the carrier. Thankfully, that all changes now as these four major carriers turned on the joint database to track the IMEI numbers of cell phones, which is specific to the hardware and not the SIM card.

While this won't likely lead to the recovery of your stolen phone, the hope is that by having the ability to prevent phones from being activated with a stolen IMEI the stolen cell phone market will dry up and die. There may still be a market for stolen phones by selling overseas, but in most cases we see the modern smartphone launch first overseas before the US so that may not be much of a market either.

I have spent thousands on smartphones and welcome this new initiative from the CTIA and am pleased that at least the four major US wireless carriers are on board.

matthew miller About Matthew Miller
Matthew Miller started using a Pilot 1000 in 1997 and has been writing news, reviews, and opinion pieces ever since.
Source: ZDNet

black line

Product Support Services, Inc.

black line

 

Wireless and Cellular Repair — Pagers, Coasters, Handsets, Infrastructure and other Electronics

pssi logo

pssi

repairmanrepairman

Product Support Services, Inc.

511 South Royal Lane
Coppell, Texas 75019
(972) 462-3970 Ext. 261
sales@pssirl.com left arrow
www.pssirl.com left arrow

PSSI is the industry leader in reverse logistics, our services include depot repair, product returns management, RMA and RTV management, product audit, test, refurbishment, re-kitting and value recovery.

PSSI Offers Customers —

  • Centralized Returns and Repair Services at our 125,000 Sq. Ft. Facility, in a Triple Free Port Zone, 3 Miles North of DFW Airport.
  • Experience, PSSI repairs 5,000 units a day and has capacity for more.
  • ISO9001:2008 Certified Operation, with integrated Lean Manufacturing processes and systems for best-in class performance and turn-times.
  • Authorized Service Center for Level I, II and III Repair by a wide variety of OEMs including LG, Motorola, Samsung, Nokia and others.
  • State-of-the-art facility for multiple wireless test environments, including infrastructure and board-level test and repair capabilities.
  • Serialized Tracking through PSSI’s proprietary Work-In-Process (WIP) and shop floor management system PSS.Net. This system allows PSSI to track each product received by employee, work center, lot, model, work order, serial number and location, tracking parts allocated, service, repair and refurbishment actions through each stage of the reverse logistics process. Access to order status and repair reports can be transmitted electronically in formats like FTP, EDI, API, XML or CSV.
  • Expertise, PSSI’s executive team has 125+ years of industry experience.

black line

A Look inside Verizon's Flooded Communications Hub

By ANTON TROIANOVSKI
The Wall Street Journal

verizon sandy
Kevin Hagen for The Wall Street Journal

Several floors of Verizon's headquarters are flooded at 140 West St. in Manhattan.

Eleven years after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Verizon Communications Inc. VZ +0.78% is once again scrambling to repair severe damage to a key switching facility inside its historic headquarters building in lower Manhattan.

Verizon saw severe damage from flooding at 140 West, the same key telecom hub destroyed by the 9/11 attacks. Anton Troianovski on The News Hub has the story of what happened, and gives us a good read on the state of telecom in lower Manhattan. Photo: Reuters.

The massive facility for interconnecting key communications lines sustained heavy damage after planes struck the Twin Towers more than a decade ago. This time the enemy was water shoved ashore by Hurricane Sandy.

The building is one of the worst hit of a number of facilities that carriers were rushing to fix Wednesday. The Federal Communications Commission said the number of cellphone tower outages dropped on the second day after the storm made landfall, with just over a fifth of the sites in storm-affected areas in the Northeast offline, down from about a quarter on Tuesday.

Phone companies supplemented those efforts with extraordinary measures to bolster service. Wireless carriers AT&T Inc. T +0.46% and T-Mobile USA, for example, said they would switch each others' customers between their networks depending on which was in better shape in a particular area.

The steps came as cellphone users around the New York City area reported more trouble keeping and completing calls as businesses started to open back up and people tried to go about their workdays. The FCC said pockets of serious damage remain that will take a long time to repair.

The depth of the challenges facing telecom providers was on display inside Verizon's facilities in lower Manhattan.

tony melone
Kevin Hagen for The Wall Street Journal
Verizon chief technology officer Tony Melone stands amidst efforts to remove water from the company's headquarters in Manhattan.

The company's headquarters—a key communications hub just north of the World Trade Center site at 140 West Street—was in a state of crisis not seen since the 9/11 attacks, which partially destroyed the building.

Mud still covered parts of the ornate lobby. Down below, 3½ floors of the building's five-level basement were still submerged, the brackish water sloshing up the walls of the stairwell.

Verizon employees said Monday night's storm surge was so powerful that it breached the protective plugs that surround cables coming into the building. As a result, water flooded the critical basement "cable vault" that takes in communications cables and directs them to switching gear upstairs, which wasn't damaged. On Wednesday, Verizon employees took a reporter inside the vault, illuminating the huge dark room with flashlights. The cables were still damp, and leaves littered the floor.

manhatten
Kevin Hagen for The Wall Street Journal
Crews work to remove flood waters caused by Hurricane Sandy from Verizon's Manhattan office.

Thanks to changes made in the aftermath of 9/11, when some critical equipment was moved above ground level, Verizon was able to get parts of 140 West operating. Verizon's Dominic Veltri, who helped direct the building's recovery after the attacks and now oversees engineering, design and construction in critical Verizon facilities, had emergency generators brought on Tuesday and threaded the electrical cables through a second-story window, to restore some functionality to the building. Now he is working on installing additional temporary fuel tanks on the street to power more generators.

"Unfortunately we've been through this before," Mr. Veltri said.

Like the terrorist attacks in 2001, Hurricane Sandy has exposed one of New York City's most vulnerable points: the concentration of telecommunications infrastructure in Lower Manhattan. Carriers adjusted after those attacks by moving equipment to more secure points within buildings and ensuring their networks could keep running even if parts weren't functioning.

Yet it is clear in the wake of the storm that key facilities remain exposed to disruption by disasters—especially in areas like Manhattan that are dense with high-volume telecom users.

"You have no choice but to concentrate on where the need is," said Tony Melone, Verizon's chief technology officer.

Much of lower Manhattan is still without wireless or wireline service as wireless providers struggled to restore service, Thomas Gryta reports on digits. Photo: Getty Images.

At another Verizon switching facility downtown, on Broad Street, the situation was even worse. Water had flooded critical electrical equipment, leaving the entire building inoperable.

"There is nothing working here," said Mr. Melone. "Quite frankly, this is wider than the impacts of 9/11."

Telecom hubs like Verizon's flooded buildings downtown act as collecting points for phone and data traffic, serving as key "nodes" in the phone network. Mr. Melone said that area landline customers, cellphone users, and businesses like the New York Stock Exchange were served by Verizon's hubs downtown.

Verizon said it had built in enough redundancy to be able to operate its network in a limited way. Mr. Melone said it was still able to provide service to the stock exchange on Wednesday, and that cellphone service was improving.

Outside the Broad Street facility, water being pumped out of the basement was rushing down the street as Verizon executives, including Mr. Melone and Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam, oversaw the efforts of scores of workers. The entrance to the darkened building was held open with a sandbag.

At 140 West, Mr. Veltri and other Verizon officials had to take unusual measures. Mr. Veltri said no one expected the water to flood as much of the building as it did. The force of the storm surge was so strong that it bent the 86-year-old Art Deco skyscraper's steel and bronze doors. To pump out the water, workers stuck a pipe down an elevator shaft.

On Sept. 11, 2001, the destruction of 140 West St. severed key links in the country's telecom network. Some businesses were without landline phone connections for weeks. After the building was rebuilt, critical equipment such as backup generators were moved above ground.

But fuel tanks and pumps for the generators were left below ground and were rendered inoperable when Sandy's storm surge overwhelmed Verizon facilities downtown. Now, Mr. Veltri said, Verizon will look at new ways to improve the reliability of its infrastructure—including figuring out how to protect the fuel pumps at 140 West.

After 9/11, critics said the damage to 140 West showed the vulnerability of U.S. telecom networks in an industry dominated by a few players—and in which key facilities were concentrated inside a small number of buildings. Verizon and others said they have improved the redundancy of their networks, meaning calls can be routed around trouble spots even if some facilities are taken offline.

That redundancy has been put to the test this week. FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said Wednesday that telecommunications were improving, but noted "serious outages" in the New York and New Jersey area and warned that "the crisis is not over."

Getting a precise fix on the damage to the region's telecom networks was difficult. The major wireless telecom WTT +1.65% providers have revealed few details of their service problems other than to acknowledge that issues exist and to say they are working to fix them. People moving in and out of affected areas can make it difficult to estimate the number of people without service, companies said.

Outside Verizon's headquarters Wednesday, workers were welding vertical metal panels set on top of a wooden platform. Mr. Veltri said they were preparing to install temporary fuel tanks to power generators—just as Verizon did at 140 West after 9/11.

—Thomas Gryta contributed to this article.

Source: The Wall Street Journal

black line

LEAVITT Communications

black line

its stil here

It's still here — the tried and true Motorola Alphamate 250. Now owned, supported, and available from Leavitt Communications. Call us for new or reconditioned units, parts, manuals, and repairs.

We also offer refurbished Alphamate 250’s, Alphamate IIs, the original Alphamate and new and refurbished pagers, pager repairs, pager parts and accessories. We are FULL SERVICE in Paging!

E-mail Phil Leavitt ( pcleavitt@leavittcom.com ) for pricing and delivery information or for a list of other available paging and two-way related equipment.

black line

Phil Leavitt
847-955-0511
pcleavitt@leavittcom.com

leavitt logo

7508 N. Red Ledge Dr.
Paradise Valley, AZ 85253
www.leavittcom.com

black line

Cloud computing improves nurse call system

Innovations
By Erica Breunlin
October 29. 2012 11:30AM

Bob Sodemann, co-founder of DataComm Plus, an information technology and telecommunications systems firm and data center based in Franklin, is combining existing technologies in innovative ways to help nurses reach patients requiring immediate attention quicker and more fluidly.

nurse call article Sodemann developed the Ultimate Caregiver, which merges pull cord technology with the power of cloud computing and mobile devices to allow for wireless paging and generated staff response reports. The integration of these technologies is especially useful for nursing facilities and elderly care homes, where nursing staffs are constantly on the go, attending to a number of patients.

"We're applying these technologies in new and creative ways," Sodemann said.

The development behind the collaboration of these technologies has been an evolving process over the past five years with cloud computing introduced to the collaboration earlier this year.

The Ultimate Caregiver connects a pull cord system, either wired or wireless, in a nursing facility with a cloud hosted at a data center. When a patient pulls a pull cord, it triggers a light to turn on. A light sensor sees the automatic light and sends the pull cord information to the data center over the Internet. The data center then transmits the information to pagers and mobile devices to alert nursing staffs about where the pull cord call is coming from. Alerts can be sent through texts, e-mails, pages and phone calls.

The data center also tracks pull cord calls and generates reports detailing the amount of time staff takes to respond to a particular call.

According to Sodemann, the Ultimate Caregiver's most significant strengths are that all computing involved takes place in the cloud which is more reliable than other servers, and the cloud can be connected to existing nurse call systems so that facilities do not have to invest in costly new technology.

DataComm Plus has connected these capabilities using the cloud with four facilities, including two in the greater Milwaukee area, one in Nebraska and one in Iowa.

One of the facilities, the Sisters of St. Francis of Assisi convent in St. Francis, has been relying on the Ultimate Caregiver since July so that its nursing staff can better identify nuns in need of urgent help.

The convent is home to 40 sisters who receive 24-hour care. Another building on the convent's campus, Clare Hall, houses about 70 sisters who have two shifts of care available to them daily.

Convent administrator John Schmitt said the organization needed to update its technology to better accommodate elderly nuns with exceedingly demanding health needs.

"The sisters are aging in place, and we wanted to improve the quality of care and reduce the response time," Schmitt said.

"We wanted to make sure that as their need for care increases, we could adapt to it to take care of them," he said.

Originally, Sisters of St. Francis of Assisi had a wired nurse call system connected to a panel of lights. When a nun pulled a pull cord in her room, a light would come on in the hallway right outside her room door. The panel of lights would also light up and sound a tone to alert staff which room the pull cord had been pulled in.

The system was limited in that it required a staff member to be at the panel as much as possible. Otherwise, caregivers would have to explore the hallways when hearing the alert tone to find which light outside which room was signaling the patient in need.

The Ultimate Caregiver technology enables staff alerts via pagers using the same pull cord system. When a sister pulls her cord, the panel lights up and all nursing staff members are alerted with their pagers. The pagers display the exact room number the cord has been pulled in. If the cord has been pulled in a restroom, the pager will display the two room numbers the restroom serves. Vibrating tones on the pagers also signal when a pull cord has been pulled in a room or restroom.

A second alert is sent out via pager once a caregiver has responded so other staff members know the sister in need is being cared for.

This swifter means of communication is all possible thanks to cloud computing. The pull cords, once pulled, alert the data center, which alerts the pagers. The data centers also generate daily reports, which are e-mailed directly to Schmitt and the nurses with documentation of 24-hour pull cord activity. The reports list the date of each pull cord call, the time of the call, the amount of time it took for staff to respond, and when the call was canceled.

"We've noticed from the reports that we get that the response times are extremely short, so (nurses) react very well to the calls," Schmitt said.

In alerting nurses through pages, the Ultimate Caregiver encourages nurses to be more efficient on the floor instead of tied to a station to track pull cord signals.

"It allows caregivers to be roaming around doing their routines and attending to other sisters, and then if an alarm goes off they can get it right where they are," said Tom Sodemann, co-founder of DataComm Plus and brother to Bob.

The technology has also proven cost-effective for the convent as it enabled them to keep their own pull cord system, which they've been using for more than 20 years.

"One of the biggest advantages is that Bob was able to adapt to our old system rather than us having to pull the entire system out, which we had looked at several years ago," Schmitt said. "And at that point the only option was to bring in something entirely new while removing the old. This way we were able to utilize much of the equipment that was already here and just adapt it to the cloud system."

Source: BizTimes.com

black line

black line

IVYCORP

black line ivytalk

black line

IVYCORP

black line

Consulting Alliance

black line

Brad Dye, Ron Mercer, Allan Angus, Vic Jackson, and Ira Wiesenfeld are friends and colleagues who work both together and independently, on wireline and wireless communications projects. Click here left arrow for a summary of their qualifications and experience. Each one has unique abilities. We would be happy to help you with a project, and maybe save you some time and money.

black line

Consulting Alliance

black line

 

 

advertise

 

black line

advertise

wireless messaging news

RIGHT ARROW YOUR AD CAN GO RIGHT HERE left arrow

$100 A MONTH IS NOT TOO MUCH

FOR A NICE AD THIS SIZE (340X340)

black line

 

black line

Preferred Wireless

black line

preferred logo

Terminals & Controllers:
1Motorola ASC1500
2GL3100 RF Director 
7SkyData 8466 B Receivers
1GL3000L Complete w/Spares
1GL3000ES Terminal
2Zetron 2200 Terminals
 Unipage—Many Unipage Cards & Chassis
Link Transmitters:
4Glenayre QT4201 & 6201, 25 & 100W Midband Link TX
2Glenayre QT6201 Link Repeater and Link Station in Hot Standby
1Glenayre QT6994, 150W, 900 MHz Link TX
3Motorola 10W, 900 MHz Link TX (C35JZB6106)
2Motorola 30W, Midband Link TX (C42JZB6106AC)
2Eagle Midband Link Transmitters, 125W
5Glenayre GL C2100 Link Repeaters
VHF Paging Transmitters
6Glenayre GLT8411, 250W, VHF TX
3Motorola VHF 125W Nucleus NAC Transmitters
12Motorola VHF 350W Nucleus NAC Transmitters
10Motorola VHF 350W Nucleus C-Net Transmitters
3Motorola PURC-5000, VHF, 350W, ACB Control 
UHF Paging Transmitters:
20Glenayre UHF GLT5340, 125W, DSP Exciter
3Motorola PURC-5000 110W ACB Transmitters
900 MHz Paging Transmitters:
3Glenayre GLT 8600, 500W
2Glenayre GLT8200, 25W (NEW)
15Glenayre GLT-8500 250W
2Motorola Nucleus 900MHz 300W CNET Transmitters

SEE WEB FOR COMPLETE LIST:

www.preferredwireless.com/equipment left arrow

Too Much To List • Call or E-Mail

Rick McMichael
Preferred Wireless, Inc.
10658 St. Charles Rock Rd.
St. Louis, MO 63074
888-429-4171 or 314-429-3000
rickm@preferredwireless.com left arrow

black line

Preferred Wireless

black line

preferred wireless

black line

comcast wifi

NETWORKING wi-fi, comcast

Comcast offers free Wi-Fi in the wake of Sandy

Ed Oswald
Oct 31, 2012 2:10 PM

Comcast will offer use of its Wi-Fi network free of charge to those hardest hit by Hurricane Sandy, the cable and Internet provider said on Wednesday. The network, which is typically free for unlimited use by those with an Xfinity Internet account, is now open to the public through November 7.

Hotspots in Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. are part of the offer. A list of these hotspots can be found using Xfinity's Wi-Fi coverage map available from the Comcast website.

Comcast's hotspots can be found both indoors and outdoors in parks, public places, public transportation, and shopping malls. The cable provider operates some 50,000 of these hotspots across the country, mostly across the Northeast and in California.

To use the free Wi-Fi, look for the "xfinitywifi" network at a participating hotspot. On the page that pops up after connecting, look for the link that says "Not a Comcast Subscriber?" toward the bottom of the page. Click it, then select "Complementary Trial Session." Comcast will allow you to renew your connection every two hours.

Obviously, the availability of these hotspots is dependent on both power and cable service being available at that location. In the hardest hit areas, that may be a bit tough: Current estimates put some 7 million people without power, and as much a a quarter of residents in the ten states affected by Sandy without broadband service .

Another caveat is that Comcast's offer of free Wi-Fi only extends to hotspots operated by Comcast directly. Those operated by partners such as Cablevision and Time Warner Cable are not part of the promotion. That includes some of the hardest hit areas—including New York City, Long Island and Connecticut.

Neither company had announced similar plans for free Wi-Fi to those affected by Sandy as of Wednesday afternoon.

Source: TechHive

black line

black line

UCOM Paging

black line

satellite dish ucom logo

Satellite Uplink
As Low As $500 /month

  • Data input speeds up to 38.4 Kbps
  • Dial-in modem access for Admin
  • Extremely reliable & secure
  • Hot standby up link components

Knowledgeable Tech Support 24/7

Contact Alan Carle Now!

1-888-854-2697 x272
acarle@ucom.com www.ucom.com

black line

UCOM Paging

black line

subscribe free

black line

HAHNTECH USA

black line

hahntech
 
www.hahntechUSA.com

black line

HAHNTECH USA

black line

black line

VOLUNTARY NEWSLETTER SUPPORTERS BY DONATION

black line

Kansas City

mobilfone

Newsletter Supporters

mobilfone

black line

gcs logo

Newsletter Supporter

black line

CANYON RIDGE Communications

canyon ridge

Premium Newsletter Supporter

black line

ProPage Inc.

propage

Newsletter Supporter

black line

black line

Communication Specialists

communication specialists

Newsletter Supporter

black line

Cook Paging

cook paging

Newsletter Supporter

black line

MethodLink

methodlink

Newsletter Supporter

black line

PAGE ONE OF WYOMING

page one wyoming

Newsletter Supporter

black line

black line

FRIENDS & COLLEAGUES

black line

Ira Wiesenfeld, P.E.

black line

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

black line

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

Tel/Fax: 972-960-9336
Cell: 214-707-7711
Web: IWA-RADIO.com
7711 Scotia Dr.
Dallas, TX 75248-3112
E-mail: iwiesenfel@aol.com

black line

Ira Wiesenfeld, P.E.

black line

subscribe free

black line

Wireless Network Planners

black line

WIRELESS NETWORK PLANNERS LLC
WIRELESS SPECIALISTS

www.wirelessplanners.com
rmercer@wirelessplanners.com

R.H. (Ron) Mercer
Consultant
217 First Street South
East Northport, NY 11731
ron mercer

Cellphone: 631-786-9359

black line

Wireless Network Planners

black line

black line

black line

PRISM PAGING

black line

prism
white line

PRISM IP MESSAGE GATEWAY

white line

THE ULTIMATE IN COMMERCIAL AND PRIVATE RADIO PAGING SYSTEMS

prism
  • VoIP telephone access — eliminate interconnect expense
  • Call from anywhere — Prism SIP Gateway allows calls from PSTN and PBX
  • All the Features for Paging, Voicemail, Text-to-Pager, Wireless and DECT phones
  • Prism Inet, the new IP interface for TAP, TNPP, SNPP, SMTP — Industry standard message input
  • Direct Connect to NurseCall, Assisted Living, Aged Care, Remote Monitoring, Access Control Systems
prism
prism

black line

black line

WiPath Communications

black line

wipath header

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

black line

PDT3000 Paging Data Terminal

pdt 2000 image

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

black line

Paging Controlled Moving Message LED Displays

welcom wipath

  • Variety of sizes
  • Indoor/outdoor
  • Integrated paging receiver

black line

PDR3000/PSR3000 Paging Data Receivers

paging data receiver

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

black line

Specialized Paging Solutions

paging data receiver

  • 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

black line

Mobile Data Terminals & Two Way Wireless  Solutions

mobile data terminal

radio interface

  • Fleet tracking, messaging, job processing, and field service management
  • Automatic vehicle location (AVL), GPS
  • CDMA, GPRS, ReFLEX, conventional, and trunked radio interfaces

black line

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 left arrow CLICK
E-mail: info@wipath.com left arrow CLICK
Phone:770-844-6218
Fax:770-844-6574
WiPath Communications

black line

black line

Hark Technologies

black line hark logo Wireless Communication Solutions black line USB Paging Encoder 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)

black line Paging Data Receiver (PDR) 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

black line 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 left arrow CLICK
Web: http://www.harktech.com left arrow CLICK
black line

HARK—EXHIBITS AT CONFERENCE

hark David George and Bill Noyes
of Hark Technologies.

black line

Hark Technologies

black line

advertise here

black line

CRITICAL RESPONSE SYSTEMS

black line

top background

Over 70% of first responders are volunteers.
Without an alert, interoperability means nothing.

Get the Alert.

M1501 Acknowledgent Pager

With the M1501 Acknowledgement Pager and a SPARKGAP wireless data system, you know when your volunteers have been alerted, when they've read the message, and how they're going to respond – all in the first minutes of an event. Only the M1501 delivers what agencies need – reliable, rugged, secure alerting with acknowledgement.

Learn More

FEATURES
  • 5-Second Message Delivery
  • Acknowledged Personal Messaging
  • Acknowledged Group Messaging
  • 16 Group Addresses
  • 128-Bit Encryption
  • Network-Synchronized Time Display
  • Simple User Interface
  • Programming/Charging Base
  • Secondary Features Supporting Public Safety and Healthcare

black line

Wireless Service Recovers Slowly From Hurricane Sandy Devastation

By Wayne Rash
Posted 2012-10-31
eWeek.com

sandy

NEWS ANALYSIS: As wireless service slowly returns to hurricane-devastated areas of the Northeast U.S., carriers are bringing in generators and entering into extraordinary arrangements to provide service to customers.

While wireless service slowly returns to the areas of the Northeastern U.S. pounded by Hurricane Sandy, two wireless companies are taking extraordinary steps to make sure that customers of both companies have the service they need.

AT&T and T-Mobile announced Oct. 31 that the two companies have entered into a mutual roaming agreement. "AT&T and T-Mobile have entered into an agreement to enable roaming on their networks to customers of both companies in the heavily impacted areas and where capacity is available and for subscribers with a compatible device," a T-Mobile spokesperson said in a joint release issued by the two companies.

The press release noted that both companies use compatible GSM/UMTS networks on the same frequencies, allowing their devices to make calls on either network. Customers may see that their phones are using the other carrier's network, but they should be able to make and receive calls normally and will be free of any roaming charges.

"This will be seamless for AT&T and T-Mobile customers with no change to their current rate plans or service agreements even if the phone indicates the device is attached to the other carrier's network," the spokesperson said.

While wireless service slowly returns to the areas of the Northeastern U.S. pounded by Hurricane Sandy, two wireless companies are taking extraordinary steps to make sure that customers of both companies have the service they need.

AT&T and T-Mobile announced Oct. 31 that the two companies have entered into a mutual roaming agreement. "AT&T and T-Mobile have entered into an agreement to enable roaming on their networks to customers of both companies in the heavily impacted areas and where capacity is available and for subscribers with a compatible device," a T-Mobile spokesperson said in a joint release issued by the two companies.

The press release noted that both companies use compatible GSM/UMTS networks on the same frequencies, allowing their devices to make calls on either network. Customers may see that their phones are using the other carrier's network, but they should be able to make and receive calls normally and will be free of any roaming charges.

"This will be seamless for AT&T and T-Mobile customers with no change to their current rate plans or service agreements even if the phone indicates the device is attached to the other carrier's network," the spokesperson said.

While the mutual roaming arrangement is unusual, it's not unprecedented. Both companies (AT&T was called Cingular at the time) made similar arrangements during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. The mutual roaming agreement will no doubt help customers in the badly hit areas near New York and New Jersey communicate. However, wireless communications remain difficult in areas hit hardest by the hurricane.

On Oct. 30 the Federal Communications Commission announced that about 25 percent of cell towers in the affected area were out of service. The FCC's chief of the Public Safety and Homeland Security Branch, David Turetsky, said in a press briefing Oct. 31 that the situation had improved and that "a few percent more" wireless sites were now operational. Previously, FCC chairman Julius Genachowski had said that he expected the number of operational cell sites to decrease as batteries wore down and emergency generators ran out of fuel.

Turetsky said that instead, carriers were moving mobile generators to their cell sites and continuing to refuel the sites running on generators. Unfortunately, not every problem can be fixed with some generators and diesel fuel. "Some carrier facilities are under water," Turetsky said. "Power outages remain, water remains a problem. Damage remains a problem. But conditions are improving."

Turetsky noted that unlike some press reports, the cell sites weren't actually blown over or otherwise destroyed. "They're out because of power outages, damage or the inability to connect to the network."

Customers using cable for Internet, phone and television were having service restored as well, and that the level of outages was now below 20 percent, Turetsky said.

The FCC wasn't willing to break out the number of outages by carrier. However, Verizon Wireless spokesperson Melanie Ortel told eWEEK that the company had fared well through the storm. "More than 94 percent of our towers from Maine to Virginia are operational and supporting Verizon Wireless customers. The network performed well in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, due largely to sustained network investment which includes permanent backup generators at most sites."

"Network teams continue round-the clock restoration efforts to those sites still affected and offline due to lack of commercial power or connectivity—predominately in New York City and northern New Jersey." Ortel said. "As power and connectivity conditions have improved over the last 24-hours, we have seen some improvement to wireless service in Lower Manhattan and other locations in the metropolitan area."

Ortel noted that Verizon Wireless is working on keeping its network running as well as focusing on restoration. "We're continuing to refuel permanent generators at cell sites until commercial power is restored, deploy additional portable generators as needed and where possible, and support customers by offering recharging services at open retail stores," she said.

Turetsky said that the FCC was granting special temporary operational authority to groups who need them to help recover from the emergency, including to power companies from out of their normal areas that are helping local companies restore power and for broadcasters with what he called, "special needs." He also noted that the 911 system remained operational—something that didn't happen during and after the derecho storm that caused widespread wind damage across the mid-Atlantic region in June 2012. A derecho is a type of storm that brings long-lasting straight line winds and it is usually associated with a band of severe thunderstorms

The significant improvement in operations was due to two factors. The first is that wireless carriers, wireline carriers and the FCC have continued to make improvements to the wireless networks. The FCC has both insisted that the companies make changes to improve reliability and made it easier for this to happen. In addition, the wireless companies have invested millions in infrastructure changes including generators at cell sites and operations centers, relocation of critical switches to higher locations, and improved procedures.

The National Weather Service also deserves kudos as well. The track of Hurricane Sandy was accurately predicted well in advance and everyone from customers to carriers had time to prepare by stationing recovery teams and equipment in the right locations ready to move into action as soon as the wind died down.

Source: eWeek.com

black line

UNTIL NEXT WEEK

black line

brad dye

With best regards,
brad's signature
Newsletter Editor
73 DE K9IQY

Wireless Messaging News
Brad Dye, Editor
P.O. Box 266
Fairfield, IL 62837 USA

 

mensa member animated gif
xxii

Skype: braddye
Twitter: @BradDye1
Telephone: 618-599-7869
E–mail: brad@braddye.com
Wireless Consulting page
Paging Information
Home Page

Marketing & Engineering Papers

pagerman WIRELESS
wireless logo medium
MESSAGING

black line

THOUGHTS FOR THE WEEK

black line

Words To Live By

  • Every successful man I have ever met had come at some time under the dominating power of a great truth.
  • The greatest ability is dependability.
  • The test of your character is what it takes to stop you.
  • It is never right to do wrong in order to get a chance to do right.

—Dr. Bob Jones, Sr.

black line

advertise with us

signup

CLICK ON THE LOGO ABOVE FOR A FREE NEWSLETTER SUBSCRIPTION

black line

left arrow Newspapers generally cost 75¢ a copy and they hardly ever mention paging. If you receive some benefit from this publication maybe you would like to help support it financially? A donation of $25.00 would represent approximately 50¢ a copy for one year. If you are willing and able, please click on the PayPal Donate button to the left.

black line

Wireless Messaging News

made on a mac

black line

Home Page | Directory | Consulting | Newsletters
Products | Reference | Glossary | Send e-mail