|
| Wireless News Aggregation |
|
Welcome Wishing a safe and happy weekend for all readers of The Wireless Messaging News. — CONGRATULATIONS —
Ira Wiesenfeld was elected to serve as Chairman of ETA® International for the 2017 and 2018 calendar years. The 2016 ETA Technician of the Year award was presented to Jay Thompson. Both of these gentlemen are friends and subscribers to this newsletter. More details follow in the press release below. Please don't miss the important video from Swissphone in the first article below. Now on to more news and views. | Wayne County, Illinois
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. I spend the whole week searching the Internet for news that I think may be of interest to you — so you won’t have to. This newsletter is an aggregator — a service that aggregates news from other news sources. You can help our community by sharing any interesting news that you find.
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. Subscribe IT'S FREE * required field If you would like to subscribe to the newsletter just fill in the blanks in the form above, and then click on the “Subscribe” button. 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. The Wireless Messaging News
The Board of Advisor members are people with whom I have developed a special rapport, and have met personally. They are not obligated to support the newsletter in any way, except with advice, and maybe an occasional letter to the editor. | |||||||||||||
Back To Paging
|
| |||||||||||||
Can You Help The Newsletter?
You can help support The Wireless Messaging News by clicking on the PayPal Donate button above. It is not necessary to be a member of PayPal to use this service.
Newspapers generally cost A donation of $50.00 would certainly help cover a one-year period. If you are wiling and able, please click on the PayPal Donate button above. |
If you are reading this, your potential customers are reading it as well. Please click here to find out about our advertising options. | |||||||||||||
|
|
 |
Advertiser Index
|
South Tyrol Opts For Separate Alerting And Voice Communication NetworksNot only do public safety organisations face new challenges but also a variety of new threats. This requires solutions that work reliably even in case of a major crisis. One precaution for a major crisis is to separate voice communication and alerting networks. December 19, 2016 When is a communication system safe enough? What happens if a voice communication network reaches or even exceeds its capacity due to an unplanned event? How can you still alert your intervention forces; even if the connection to the control and monitoring systems are interrupted? Several incidents with dedicated voice communication networks being jammed during unplanned events in the last years illustrated how important these questions are. Markus Rauch, Civil Protection Agency of South Tyrol, takes a stance. His experience: A network uniting both alerting and voice communication devices can suddenly fail during unplanned events. South Tyrol therefore decided to separate alerting networks from voice communication systems. Their solution offers several fallback modes and end-devices that are comparably inexpensive, compact, robust, with a long battery life and great indoor-reception. Learn more in the video. |
Source: | Swissphone Holding AG | Philipp Zimmermann, Head of Marketing |
sales@wirelessmessaging.com New Products OMNI Messaging Server
MARS (Mobile Alert Response System)
STG (SIP to TAP Gateway)
|
A ProblemThe Motorola Nucleus II Paging Base Station is a great paging transmitter. The Nucleus I, however, had some problems. One of the best features of this product was its modular construction. Most of the Nucleus' component parts were in plug-in modules that were field replaceable making maintenance much easier. One issue was (and still is) that two of the modules had to always be kept together. They are called the “matched pair.” Motorola used some tricks to keep people in the field from trying to match unmatched pairs, and force them to send SCM and Exciter modules back to the factory for calibrating them with precision laboratory equipment. The serial numbers have to match in the Nucleus programing software or you can't transmit. Specifically the 4-level alignment ID parameter contained in the SCM has to match the Exciter ID parameter. Even if someone could modify the programing software to “fudge” these parameters, that would not let them use unmatched modules effectively without recalibrating them to exact factory specifications. So now that there is no longer a Motorola factory laboratory to send them to, what do we do? I hope someone can help us resolve this serious problem for users of the Nucleus paging transmitter. Please let me know if you can help. [ click here ]
|
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Media Contact: Andrea Cumpston Phone: 703-797-5111 LMCC Supports Priority Access to 800 MHz SpectrumDecember 22, 2016 (Herndon, VA) — In Reply Comments filed today, the Land Mobile Communications Council (LMCC) noted the broad support within the Private Land Mobile Radio (PLMR) community for the proposals made by the FCC in WP Docket 16-261, to improve access to PLMR spectrum. The only area of significant controversy in the industry involves the rules governing priority access to the 800 MHz Expansion Band (EB) and Guard Band (GB) spectrum. The LMCC urged the FCC to revisit its 800 MHz EB/GB proposal which is more restricted than the LMCC’s original proposal. While not all members supported the proposal, particularly with respect to SMRs, the LMCC’s Reply Comments nevertheless recommended that all existing 800 MHz incumbents, whether Business/Industrial Land Transportation (B/ILT), Public Safety or Specialized Mobile Radio (SMR) should be afforded time-limited priority access to available channels within the EB/GB. Other recommendations confirmed by the LMCC in its Reply Comments included:
The LMCC Reply Comments may be viewed at www.lmcc.org. About LMCC The Land Mobile Communications Council is a nonprofit association of organizations that represent the wireless communications interests of public safety, critical infrastructure, business, industrial, transportation, private and common carriers as well as manufacturers of wireless communications equipment. Learn more at www.lmcc.org. |
| Source: | The Land Mobile Communications Council |
| Voluntary Newsletter Supporters By Donation |
Kansas City
Premium Newsletter Supporter
Premium Newsletter SupporterCanyon Ridge Communications Premium Newsletter SupporterProPage Inc. Newsletter SupporterMetropolitan Communications
Newsletter Supportere*Message Wireless Information Services Europe
Newsletter SupporterLekkerkerk, Netherlands Newsletter Supporter | Incyte Capital Holdings LLC |
PRESS RELEASE ETA Selects Award Recipients and Elects New Board of DirectorsETA® International is proud to have the most respected industry leaders as members of the not-for-profit professional trade association who share the mission to foster excellence in electronics through certification. ETA recently selected the annual award winners who made outstanding contributions to the electronics industry during the past year and elected the board of directors to lead the association for the next two years. Greencastle, December 21, 2016: ETA recently recognized the contributions of an outstanding technician, educator and local chapter, all dedicated to the highest standards of electronics excellence with ETA’s annual awards. Members also voted on the new ETA Board of Directors to promote the arts and sciences of electronics technology and to educate the members and the public in the advancement, improvement and uses of the services of trained and certified electronics technicians. Those deserving recognition for their dedication and enthusiasm for the electronics industry and their willingness to volunteer at a moment’s notice to represent their association include: Technician of the Year — For outstanding service to electronics technicians, this award is given in honor of the late Norris R. Browne, president of the National Electronic Association (NEA) and a service business owner who worked hard to assure that the professionalism of the independent technician be maintained and championed. This award is presented annually to an individual who is recognized as having similar passion and character. The 2016 ETA Technician of the Year award is presented to Jay Thompson, CETsr; San Diego CA; Senior Field Technician, IWATSI. Educator of the Year — This prestigious award is named in honor of Wallace “Wally” Medeiros, PhD, CETma, a US Veteran and retired communications worker who spent his retirement working as in instructor at Honolulu Community College and the U.S. military at Barbers Point, HI teaching, inspiring and working on course development. For outstanding dedication and devotion in the education of those pursuing careers in electronics and related fields, this award goes to Clarence Owen Jackson, FOT; Martinez GA; Ordnance Electronics Maintenance Training Department, US Army. Chapter of the Year — For active involvement in the world of electronics, this award recognizes registered student and local chapters of ETA International and also supports a continuance of dedication to both the association and the electronics field itself. Center Point High School, Birmingham AL, is this year’s ETA Chapter of the Year. ETA members elected their fellow member technicians and educators to promote and guide the not-for-profit professional trade association. ETA Board of Directors includes professionals dedicated to the electronics industry willing to serve the association with the highest standards of excellence. The volunteers selected to serve ETA International for the 2017 and 2018 calendar years include: Chairman — Ira Wiesenfeld, CETsr; Dallas TX; IWA Technical Services About ETA — Since 1978, ETA has delivered over 200,000 professional certifications plus nearly 40,000 FCC license exams. Widely recognized and frequently used in worker job selection, hiring processes, pay increases, and advancements, ETA certifications are often required as companies bid on contracts. ETA’s certifications are personal and portable worldwide, thus traveling with the individual, regardless of employment or status change. ETA certifications measure and validate competencies of persons, not products or vendors. All ETA certifications are accredited through the International Certification Accreditation Council (ICAC) and align with the ISO-17024 standard. www.eta-i.org. ### ETA® International • 5 Depot Street Greencastle, Indiana 46135 • P: (765) 653-8262 • www.eta-i.org • eta@eta-i.org |
| Source: | www.eta-i.org/pr/ETA_Selects_Award_Recipients_and_Elects_New_Board_of_Directors.pdf |
| Prism Paging |
 |
| Product Support Services, Inc. |
Repair and Refurbishment Services
Product Support Services, Inc.511 South Royal Lane 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. |
| RF Demand Solutions |
| ||||||||||
A flight was late because someone named their Wi-Fi hotspot ‘Galaxy Note 7’by Chris Welch Dec 22, 2016, 5:16pm EST
Airlines aren’t taking the ban against Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7 lightly. A clever but highly irresponsible troll by a passenger aboard a Virgin America flight out of San Francisco nearly resulted in the plane being grounded and searched for the recalled smartphone. According to BBC News, someone switched the name of their portable Wi-Fi hotspot to “Galaxy Note 7_1097,” which gave other passengers (and the flight’s crew) the impression that Samsung’s device was somewhere on the plane — and actively being used. This resulted in numerous urgent announcements from the crew demanding that the owner of the Note 7 speak up. The captain warned that the flight would need to be diverted and land in Wyoming (far from its Boston destination) for an emergency search if no one stepped forward.
Lucas Wojciechowski was on the disrupted flight and took a screenshot of the Note 7 SSID. I can’t speak for the accuracy of his transcriptions, but it certainly sounds like the crew wasn’t happy. “This isn't a joke,” someone reportedly announced to the everyone on board. “We're going to turn on the lights and search everyone's bag until we find it.”
Remember that the Galaxy Note 7 is a potential fire hazard and is officially barred from flight by the FAA. We’re talking a federal crime, here. So while the reaction might strike some as extreme, this is definitely how a crew should respond when they believe a potentially dangerous and banned anything is somewhere on their plane mid-flight. The culprit ultimately fessed up and explained the stubborn prank. iMore’s Serenity Caldwell was at the airport a few hours after the flight arrived in Boston — late.
|
| Source: | The Verge |
| Leavitt Communications |
| |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Swissphone |
Disaster-Proven Paging for Public SafetyPaging system designs in the United States typically use a voice radio-style infrastructure. These systems are primarily designed for outdoor mobile coverage with modest indoor coverage. Before Narrowbanding, coverage wasn’t good, but what they have now is not acceptable! The high power, high tower approach also makes the system vulnerable. If one base station fails, a large area loses their paging service immediately! Almost every technology went from analog to digital except fire paging. So it’s time to think about digital paging! The Disaster-Proven Paging Solution (DiCal) from Swissphone offers improved coverage, higher reliability and flexibility beyond anything that traditional analog or digital paging systems can provide. Swissphone is the No. 1 supplier for digital paging solutions worldwide. The Swiss company has built paging networks for public safety organizations all over the world. Swissphone has more than 1 million pagers in the field running for years and years due to their renowned high quality. DiCal is the digital paging system developed and manufactured by Swissphone. It is designed to meet the specific needs of public safety organizations. Fire and EMS rely on these types of networks to improve incident response time. DiCal systems are designed and engineered to provide maximum indoor paging coverage across an entire county. In a disaster situation, when one or several connections in a simulcast solution are disrupted or interrupted, the radio network automatically switches to fall back operating mode. Full functionality is preserved at all times. This new system is the next level of what we know as “Simulcast Paging” here in the U.S.
Swissphone offers high-quality pagers, very robust and waterproof. Swissphone offers the best sensitivity in the industry, and battery autonomy of up to three months. First responder may choose between a smart s.QUAD pager, which is able to connect with a smartphone and the Hurricane DUO pager, the only digital pager who offers text-to-voice functionality. Bluetooth technology makes it possible to connect the s.QUAD with a compatible smartphone, and ultimately with various s.ONE software solutions from Swissphone. Thanks to Bluetooth pairing, the s.QUAD combines the reliability of an independent paging system with the benefits of commercial cellular network. Dispatched team members can respond back to the call, directly from the pager. The alert message is sent to the pager via paging and cellular at the same time. This hybrid solution makes the alert faster and more secure. Paging ensures alerting even if the commercial network fails or is overloaded. Swissphone sets new standards in paging: Paging Network
Pager
Dispatching:
Swissphone provides a proven solution at an affordable cost. Do you want to learn more? |
BlackBerry to make a comeback at CES 2017 courtesy of TCLThe new BlackBerry-branded smartphones will debut at the CES 2017. By Kul Bhushan | Published: December 23, 2016 5:09 PM
BlackBerry has already confirmed that it is not going to make smartphones anymore. But it certainly does not mean no new BlackBerry-branded smartphones will hit the market. Shortly after announcing that it won’t manufacture phones, BlackBerry tied up with TCL to allow the latter to sell BlackBerry-branded smartphones. Now, TCL has confirmed that it is going to launch new BlackBerry-branded devices at CES 2017, which will be held between January 5 and January 8 in Las Vegas. “We’ll unveil more news at CES around our plans, showcasing the legacy of the BlackBerry smartphone brand, while also giving a glimpse into what new BlackBerry smartphones will offer as part of our bold new brand portfolio within TCT. These are just the building blocks of our new growth strategy, with additional announcements to come in 2017,” disclosed the company in a release . It is worth pointing out here that TCL has semi-exclusive rights to build and distribute BlackBerry devices globally excluding key markets like India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh and Indonesia. That said, TCL has already made BlackBerry’s last two smartphones, the DTEK 50 and DTEK 60, which are believed to be re-branded version of the Alcatel Idol 4 and Idol 4S. TCL’s partnership with BlackBerry is very similar to the arrangement HMD Global and Nokia have. Moreover, Nokia-brand has already made a comeback in the mobile phone market with a feature phone and some new smartphones are expected to be launched early next year. Just like Nokia, BlackBerry too ruled the mobile phone market a few years ago with its unique offerings like physical QWERTY keyboard and popular instant messenger, BlackBerry Messenger (BBM). Both Nokia and BlackBerry failed to keep up with the evolution of the mobile phone market which was swayed away by the likes of Samsung and several other Android brands which offered better products and at much more affordable prices. Not that BlackBerry didn’t try to bounce back in the market with smartphone likes Priv, also its first full-fledged Android smartphone. But BlackBerry goofed up the pricing of the smartphone, which later the company admitted too. Its recent DTEK 60 and DTEK 50 , despite with competitive price tags, failed to prove themselves as the compelling products. ALSO READ: BlackBerry DTEK50 and DTEK60 hands-on and first impressions: Too little, too late. So far, TCL hasn’t hinted at what the new BlackBerry-branded smartphones will be like. But a new BlackBerry phone has leaked multiple times in the recent weeks. Dubbed as BlackBerry Mercury, the smartphone is also believed to be the final BlackBerry device. Interestingly, BlackBerry CEO John Chen has confirmed that the company is indeed working on its final in-house smartphone, which also features its iconic QWERTY keyboard. Based on rumors and leaks so far, the smartphone is expected to come with a 4.5-inch display and be powered by a Snapdragon 625 processor along with 3GB of RAM. Other expected features of the smartphone include 32GB inbuilt storage, 18-megapixel rear camera, 8-megapixel front camera and fingerprint scanner. Published: December 23, 2016 5:09 PM IST | Updated: December 23, 2016 5:09 PM IST |
| Source: | BGR |
| Leavitt Communications |
| |||||||
GOP FCC Commissioners to Review Net Neutrality ASAPGOP Commissioners Ajit Pai and Michael O’Rielly intend to revisit Net Neutrality regulation “as soon as possible.” The rules passed under the Tom Wheeler FCC prohibit Internet Service Providers, some of whom are wireless carriers, from “throttling” or slowing internet speeds based on payment size. The rules affect what providers like Verizon and AT&T can do concerning free data wireless plans powered by towers. Rural ISPs especially oppose the rules while giants like Netflix and Google support them. GOP members of Congress have said they’d help the new FCC eliminate or at least relax the restrictions. Pai, presumed to be named interim FCC Chairman, and O’Rielly, explained their plan this week in a letter to the Competitive Carriers Association, the Rural Broadband Association, the Wireless Internet Service Providers Association and the American Cable Association. Noting the exemption relieving small broadband internet access service providers from the enhanced transparency rules under Net Neutrality expired December 15; they urged the agency to extend the exception, “affording at least a short-term and warranted economic relief to thousands” of providers.” The associations told the FCC “to comply with enhanced network performance requirements, some small providers would have to spend tens of thousands of dollars to upgrade their network equipment or pay a third party to take granular network measurements.” Compliance includes paying more legal fees and consultant fees, they added. There’s support from both sides of the aisle in Congress, according to the associations, noting the Small Business Broadband Deployment Act was passed unanimously by the House, twice, and out of committee in the Senate; both versions of the Act would protect broadband providers serving 250,000 subscribers or less. The Republican Commissioners told the associations they wouldn’t support action against small business ISPs for “supposed non-compliance” with the disclosure rules. | ||||||
| Source: | Inside Towers |
Wireless Communication Solutions USB Paging Encoder
Paging Data Receiver (PDR)
Other products Please see our web site for other products including Internet Messaging Gateways, Unified Messaging Servers, test equipment, and Paging Terminals.
|
SEE WEB FOR COMPLETE LIST:
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
New Pa. alert system to connect with stranded motoristsDecember 22, 2016 11:12 PM
Photo courtesy of Tim McNeil By Ed Blazina / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette When big rigs jackknifed on the westbound Pennsylvania Turnpike during a January snowstorm, more than 500 vehicles were stranded for over 24 hours with little information on when help would arrive or when they might start moving again. The state can’t stop such emergencies from happening, Gov. Tom Wolf said Thursday, but it can do a better job of communicating with those who are stranded. Mr. Wolf and other officials announced a new system — believed to be the first in the country — that will allow officials to communicate directly with groups that are stranded for more than two hours. The system, known as 511PAConnect, will operate similarly to the Amber alert or weather alert systems by sending a message to all cell phones in a specific area when a standstill occurs on a limited-access highway. The system, which will be enacted by emergency management personnel in consultation with police and road officials, will encourage motorists who are stranded to register with the emergency operations center with basic information about their vehicle and passengers as well as any information they might provide about the incident. Once registered, motorists will receive updates every 15 minutes either through texts or prerecorded audio messages about the incident that led to the stoppage until traffic starts moving again. Anyone with an emergency still should call 911 to report their situation. The key element, emergency management director Richard D. Flinn Jr. said, will be that emergency personnel will be able to use GPS to immediately locate any vehicle that is registered. Once the incident is over, the state will scrub all of the contact information out of its computer system. Mr. Wolf, who ordered improvements in communications after the January incident, called the system “a new tool” that would “solve a decades-old problem” of communicating with stranded motorists. In large part, he said, it will involve sharing information the state already has collected with stranded motorists, so there will be minimal cost. “After two hours, people will know their government is working for them,” he said. Leslie S. Richards, secretary of the Department of Transportation, said 511PAConnect will supplement other services such as 511PA that provides traffic information and the system that allows motorists to see where snowplows have cleared roads during the winter. The new system will plug “a key gap” in emergency response by providing “direct communication with the folks involved,” said turnpike CEO Mark Compton. He said every post-event review of an incident that he has ever been involved in centered on the need for better communication. In addition to the communication system announced Thursday, the turnpike commission has developed an extensive playbook to guide its actions in an emergency, is storing more food and other supplies at maintenance stations, and has revised its contract with AccuWeather to get better weather information more often. “We’re better prepared today than we have ever been” to deal with emergencies, Mr. Compton said. Ed Blazina: eblazina@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1470. |
| Source: | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette |
| Critical Alert |
| |||||||||||||||
| BloostonLaw Newsletter |
Selected portions of the BloostonLaw Telecom Update, and/or the BloostonLaw Private Users Update — newsletters from the Law Offices of Blooston, Mordkofsky, Dickens, Duffy & Prendergast, LLP — are reproduced in this section with the firm’s permission.
SEASON’S GREETINGS
|
| This newsletter is not intended to provide legal advice. Those interested in more information should contact the firm. For additional information, please contact Hal Mordkofsky at 202-828-5520 or hma@bloostonlaw.com . |
| Friends & Colleagues |
| |||||||||||||
|
Wireless Network Planners www.wirelessplanners.com
| ||||||||||||
| LETTERS TO THE EDITOR |
Hello Brad, Thanks for your message. Attached is the obituary you asked for. Jimmy
|
Tél. (514) 333-3400 / Fax. (514) 333-7773 |
Happy Holidays! Thank you for a wonderful 2016.
This message was sent to brad@braddye.com by membership@enterprisewireless.org |
www.microspace.com |
DE LA MEME FAÇON, NOUS VOUS REMERCIONS POUR VOTRE CONFIANCE ET VOUS SOUHAITONS e*Message Wireless Information Services Deutschland GmbH |
Dear Brad, The team at Daviscomms UK would like to wish you the best this holiday season.
Here's to your success in 2017. Warm regards Vasu Srinivasan |
| UNTIL NEXT WEEK |
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK |
What is the true meaning of Christmas?by Matt Slick The true meaning of Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus who lived in Israel 2000 years ago and who died on the cross for our sins (1 Corinthians 15 1-4; 1 Peter 2:24 ). More specifically, when we use the word "meaning", we're talking about the purpose of his birth that Christmas is supposed to celebrate. His purpose was to enter into the world and become one of us, that he might deliver us from our sins. Jesus is not just any man. He is God in flesh ( John 1:1 , 14 ; Colossians 2:9 ). He is the second person of the Trinity who, by being born of the Virgin Mary, was made under the law ( Galatians 4:4 ) and subject to the same temptations and limitations that we are. Christmas is the celebration of the historical event of where God entered into our world so that he might display the perfection and holiness of God and that through his work of living perfectly and also dying on the cross for our sins, that all who trust in him would be saved from the righteous judgment of God.
So, Christmas is supposed to be the time of year where we celebrate the birth of Christ. But, unfortunately, it's become a commercial holiday rather than a religious one. Is mostly known as a time for businesses to make money, for people to give gifts, for children to be excited, for parties, etc. The “reason for the season” is supposed to be Jesus, not gifts, not parties, and not watching “the big game.” Of course, having celebrations, attending parties, and watching the big game or not wrong. It's just that the meaning of Christmas is supposed to a recognition of and appreciation of the birth of the one who loves us and died for us in our place. |
| Source: | Christian Apologetics & Research Ministry |
| PHOTO OF THE WEEK |
 |
|
| Home Page | Directory | Consulting | Newsletters | Free Subscription | Products | Reference | Glossary | Send e-mail |
