Early Issue

Wishing a safe and happy Thanksgiving Holiday for all U.S. readers of The Wireless Messaging News.

Just like the Sunday edition of your print-newspaper, this issue has been expanded with additional content for you to read over the long weekend. By coming out early, it also gives me some extra time to cook a turkey.

The extras are definitely not “fillers” — i.e. just meaningless material to take up space. There are some important articles included this week.

Continuing the recent theme: “Is Paging Going Away?” by Jim Nelson, I have received an excellent article from Marc Gineris, “Why Paging Remains a Critical Aspect of Healthcare Communications.”

You may be surprised, as I was, when Marc compares paging to a “tried-and-true” device that we all use and depend on every day to perhaps save our lives. He makes a very good case for the title of his article.

Now when someone asks us “When will paging go away?” we can use Marc's answer to this question — along with the many other advantages to paging technology that have been reported in this newsletter.

Another important article comes from Rex Lee's continuing efforts to draw attention to the pre-installed apps on smartphones that take away our privacy. Don't miss his “Letter to Congress: Personal Privacy, Mobile Security Threats, Deceptive Trade, & Smartphone Customer Exploitation.”

For the PHOTO OF THE WEEK, I have included a report on the launching of a new satellite entitled, “Powerful Next-Gen Weather Satellite Launches to Begin Forecasting 'Revolution'.”

Trying to dispel the false notion that paging is dying or going away is not something new for me. I dug up a paper that I wrote 20 years ago, “Paging's Future” and included it in this issue.

Of course some of the stats cited are way out of date and a few of my forecasts may be a little off the mark, but in general I still believe most of what this piece contains.

It is sad, however, since my good friend and business partner at that time, Robert Edwards, passed away in 2005.

Almost
“Is Paging Going Away?” by Jim Nelson Click here for English. Click here for German. (Berlin Revision: November 8, 2016) Click here for French. Volunteers needed for translations into other languages.

BlackBerry Dtek60 review: Phone maker returns to the fray

The Blackberry Dtek 60. Courtesy Blackberry

By John Everington
November 21, 2016
Updated: November 22, 2016 01:59 PM

With the new Dtek60 BlackBerry has produced a pretty compelling Android smartphone at a quite reasonable price of Dh1,999, all overlaid with the brand’s security features IT departments supposedly love.

It’s just a shame it comes out so late in the game for the company, with its market share lower than ever.

The Dtek60 is pretty similar design wise to its predecessor the Dtek50, sporting the same solid, if slightly uninspiring, off-the-shelf form factor of the Alcatel Idol 4S.

Looks aside though, the Dtek60 is a massive upgrade on its predecessor; the display is slightly larger at 5.5 inches, and is now Amoled, offering a far higher pixel density and much more vibrant colours.

At long last, BlackBerry has finally made a handset with a fingerprint scanner, located on the rear of the phone just below the camera, as per the LG G5 and others.

Camera-wise, the Dtek60 now sports a 21MP rear snapper (compared with the 13MP of the Dtek50), with the same 8MP selfie camera as its predecessor. Performance is decent if not stellar, with one or two struggles in low light compared with the iPhone 7 and the best-in-class Samsung Galaxy S7.

The Dtek60 is still a BlackBerry at heart. BlackBerry Messenger (BBM), BlackBerry Hub and BlackBerry Intelligent Keyboard are all present and correct for the faithful. There’s even a little red notification light in the top right-hand corner.

Plus the brand continues to tout its security features as its trump card. Like its predecessor, the Dtek60’s storage is encrypted right out of the box, while its Dtek app notifies you when the handset camera, microphone and location are being accessed.

Additionally, BlackBerry has been active in providing Android security patches faster than any other manufacturer other than Google (for its Nexus and Pixel ranges), something that will continue to appeal to IT managers and the more security-conscious consumers.

The Dtek60 at long last provides BlackBerry with a properly compelling smartphone after the overly expensive Priv and the uninspiring Dtek50, offering pretty high performance and solid security at a reasonable price. Such a shame then that it didn’t come out 12 months ago.

Q&A

Wait a minute. I thought BlackBerry had stopped making phones?

That’s right, the company announced in September that it had stopped making handsets. But that simply meant that the company was outsourcing production to another company.

So, who’s making the Dtek60?

TCL of China. UAE consumers will probably know it best for its televisions, but it also sells mobile phones here under the Alcatel brand. Hence the design similarities between the Alcatel Idol 4S and the Dtek60.

So BlackBerry handsets will continue?

Perhaps; hot on the heels of the Dtek50 and the Dtek60, BlackBerry is already working on the Dtek70, which will almost certainly sport a physical keyboard. But chief executive John Chen has always maintained that the company won’t continue in the handset business unless it can turn a profit.

What else should I know about the Dtek60?

It runs Android Marshmallow out of the box. Its 3000 mAh battery comfortably lasts through a day of moderate usage. It shares the same programmable convenience key on its right side as the Alcatel Idol 4S, enabling easy access to selected apps and functions. And its memory is expandable up to a whopping 2TB.

How about the colour? Unripe Blackberries are often …

No. It’s not available in rose gold, red gold, pink gold, or any other form of pink. Just black. [ source ]

Oh, and one other thing. This has to be the most insane and stupid headline that I have ever read:
“10,000 lives could be saved each year if doctors ditched pagers, say NHS chiefs.” I think that whoever wrote this headline didn't read the article very carefully.

A Google-owned company Deep Mind is developing a great system in U.K. hospitals “which alerts specialists immediately when patient’s kidneys are deteriorating” — by monitoring test results using artificial intelligence. So that is wonderful, but it has nothing to do with how the message is delivered to the medical doctors!

It doesn't have to be sent to a smartphone. A pager would be better as WE know. Pagers work when smartphones don't. Good grief these people drive cars.

Now on to more news and views.

Wayne County, Illinois

Emergency Radio Communications Wireless Messaging Critical Messaging Telemetry Paging Wi-Fi

Wireless Messaging

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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 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.

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Why Paging Remains a Critical Aspect of Healthcare Communications

By Marc A. Gineris, Incyte Capital Holdings LLC

Delivery of lifesaving techniques and systems has been accomplished throughout history through cost saving and highly effective technologies and inventions. Since its introduction, paging, and its unique network characteristics, has represented the most reliable, most timely, yet most cost effective way of delivering a critical alert for code and urgent messages in a healthcare setting. In this way, paging represents a logical enduring paradigm, much like other examples that exist in our daily life.

As an example of other lifesaving inventions and technologies that remain as relevant and important today as they were the first day they were introduced, we have to look no further than the automobile industry. In the late 1940’s and the early 1950’s, automakers Saab and Volvo began introducing seat belts as a safety feature, initially as an option and then as standard equipment. Among U.S. manufacturers, Nash in 1949 and Ford in 1955, similarly offered seat belts as a safety option. After initial designs patented by Saab engineers Roger Griswold and Hugh DeHaven, in the early 1950’s, it was Volvo automobile engineer Nils Bohlin, who, in 1959, ultimately invented the three-point safety belt — the basic design essentially still in use today. Since its introduction, this single safety feature has saved millions of lives.

In support of the premise that paging remains logically relevant and vital despite significant and ongoing R&D spending on alternative communication technologies today, the automobile paradigm is instructive. The typical automobile today incorporates significant advanced safety features that have been introduced since the advent of the three-point safety belt in 1959. These technologies include front and side air bags, active head restraints, crumple zones, shock absorbing bumpers, anti-lock brakes, traction control, electronic stability control, and, more recently, radar collision warning systems. These safety technologies have involved research and development spending in the billions of dollars and their total portion of the purchase price of a typical automobile today can exceed twenty percent of the total automobile cost. However, it is widely acknowledged that the single most important piece of safety equipment on an automobile remains the seat belt. In 2016, the cost of seat belts on a typical passenger car was under $1,000 and changes to its basic design have been modest.

While communications and automobiles are admittedly vastly different industries, both examples highlight that R&D spending and advanced technologies applications are not always well correlated to assessing the vital importance, continued value and outstanding performance of an original device or feature for safety — or a lifesaving result. In healthcare communications, as in automobile safety, technology advances are best applied in conjunction with paging rather than as a replacement for its superior, existing capabilities. Simply put, paging remains the most cost effective, most proven way to deliver a critical, life saving alert. Those that argue that it is old technology, obsolete and should be replaced should be reminded of how reliable its unique, simulcast network remains. Put another way, when I am asked by someone when paging will go away, I respond by asking when they believe that seat belts will be replaced in their family car despite millions of dollars in ongoing R&D spending annually for automobile safety.

Source:

Marc A. Gineris, Managing General Partner and Founder of Incyte Capital Holdings LLC

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A Problem

The 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 ]

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Why Nothing Beats Paging For Critical Messaging

This is a “rerun” of an excellent video presentation that was published earlier.

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Is there a real problem with the paging industry? The sky is falling! Paging is in trouble! PCS is going to put paging out of business — why use a pager when you can have a telephone in your pocket? Look what's happened to MobileMedia Corporation ! Have you heard these dire prognostications? As professionals with many decades each of experience in the paging industry, we believe that the digital, one-way paging market is far from dying, despite the recent free fall of MobileMedia [discussed below] and its recent filing for reorganization under chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.

Digital pagers are still the most popular and affordable. Some service providers, in addition to MobileMedia are indeed having problems, but we believe these are the result of management-related problems, not endemic to the industry as a whole. As Mark Twain said: “The rumors of [digital paging's] death have been greatly exaggerated.” The demand for low-cost, efficient wireless messaging services, continues to increase, as will be demonstrated below. Digital pagers in their two most popular forms, Numeric Display, and Alphanumeric Display, continue to be the most cost-effective way to communicate with people on the move. It is our opinion that this will continue to be so for the foreseeable future for a number of reasons, including the following:

• A pager costs less
• Better battery life
• Simulcasting is superior technology
• Better penetration into buildings
• Fewer missed messages
• Efficient use of radio resources
• Smaller, lighter weight unit
• More convenient to utilize effectively

We're not all flying to work yet. Fifty years ago futurists thought that by now, people would be flying to work everyday in personal helicopters. A few people do, but it is far too expensive for most people. A small wireless telephone in a person's pocket or purse is, without a doubt, the best way to “keep in touch,” but it too costs too much for a large portion of the population. However, there are a lot more people who can afford to utilize basic paging services rather than a wireless telephone or a two-way pager, as the graphic above shows. There are many people in the higher tiers who routinely carry both a cell phone and a numeric pager.

Strong growth will continue. Pager penetration is the percent of the total population of a country or market that uses a pager. Several countries in Asia enjoy a 30 percent penetration rate. The research and consulting firm MTA/EMCI, recently renamed The Strategis Group, estimates that the penetration rate in the United States at the end of 1996 was about 16 percent. That gives the industry a lot of room to continue to grow. Industry experts all predict such continued, strong growth.

Look at the growth of cell phones. Can these forecasts from the “experts” be believed? We think so. A good analogy can be made to the cellular telephone industry in the United States, which started on October 13, 1983. Analysts at AT&T, which at that time was the largest company in the world, forecasted a total of one million cellular subscribers in service by the year 2000. By 1993, the end of the first decade of availability of cellular telephones, there were 16 million cellular telephones in use, with an additional 14,000 new users coming on line per day. One year later, at the end of 1994, the estimated total was 23.2 million cell phones in use. By the year 2000, Herschel Shosteck Associates forecasts 60 to 70 million cellular subscribers. Paul Kagan Associates, Inc., is also forecasting 70 million cellular subscribers, and that does not count the new narrowband PCS frequencies telephone market. Forecasts for PCS telephone service usage [in addition to traditional cellular telephones], are:

Thus, it looks like there will be between 80 and 90 million wireless telephones in service by the year 2000, instead of the paltry one million originally forecasted. The best experts in the world have consistently been overly-conservative when predicting the number of subscribers in both the wireless telephone and pager markets. The paging industry as a whole, despite growing pains and blips encountered by some overly aggressive concerns [i.e., MobileMedia], continues to grow larger and faster than anyone has imagined. [We'd like to remind you that at one time the venerable Alexander Graham Bell predicted that someday every city in the country would have a telephone].

The prognosis is for a HEALTHY paging industry . To summarize, the forecasts for paging [both one-way and two-way] in the U.S. market is an expected growth of 20 to 30 million subscriptions by the year 2000 — now that sounds very healthy to us! MTA/EMCI continues to forecast 80 million Cellular/PCS subscriptions, and 60 million paging subscriptions by 2000. The conclusion of Robert Edwards Associates is that there is nothing wrong with the market — just the marketeers. The public wants pagers and it is up to the industry to give them what they want. So, if the market is healthy, why are some of the paging companies unhealthy? It may well be a lack of focus on the core business. Some companies, with MobileMedia as the prime example, have been consumed by merger and acquisition fever and have not focused on growing the core pager market. Motivation, vision, focus, and innovation have to come from upper management. If upper management is not paying attention to the “knitting,” how can a company expect to prosper? It has to flow from the top down — to the troops. When the generals have a good strategy, the soldiers can win the battle. They can win, that is, if they have good training and lots of motivation.

Despite the naysayers and its problems, MobileMedia can still make it . Smith Barney Inc., one of the major brokerage houses, issued a summary on MobileMedia on January 31, 1997, the very day it filed for bankruptcy protection. In a section titled “Implications For Other Paging Stocks,” it stated its belief that the financial woes of MobileMedia will have a “negative impact on other publicly-traded paging companies,” and that they may experience near-term difficulties in the capital market. We agree in part, but only to the extent of concerns raised because of MobileMedia's financial difficulties and its ability to restructure and reorganize itself. In a copyrighted article published on MSNBC on-line service on January 28, 1997, two days before MobileMedia's Chapter 11 filing, the author states at one point that, “While a speedy turnaround at MobileMedia is not likely. . .” We disagree strongly, for with a solidly grounded management team, MobileMedia should be able to make a comeback. Under the leadership of paging industry-savvy executives, this business can be turned around in a relatively short period of time.

It is interesting to note that even in an article with an otherwise negative cast, the author of the MSNBC article, citing an industry analyst at Bear Stearns & Co., states that, “ . . . by the end of 1997, people will realize that pagers' lower cost, longer battery life and vast coverage area will make them a complement rather than a competitor, to PCS. ” Our point exactly!

Further, as regards paging's obsolescence, Jim Page, vice president of business development for the FLEX^TM Technology and Systems Division of Motorola, has the following to say:

“Since the mid-80's, the 'experts' have consistently forecasted the demise of paging. First, it was cellular. Cellular performed dramatically well in the US growing from infancy in the early 1980's to on the order of 40 million users today. Interestingly, paging also stands at about 40 million users in the US. Then, SMRs and Mobile Data were going to eliminate the need for paging. Well, SMRs and Mobile Data have been around for a while now and Paging continues to grow. Now we hear PCS, Personal Handyphone, and GSM will eliminate paging. Maybe, but as long as paging sticks to its core competencies of best-in-class size (enabling 'unconscious portability'), in-building coverage (due to the characteristics of simulcast), battery life (FLEX^TM pagers now get 4-5 months continuous on), the ability to broadcast (where most other wireless technologies are one-to-one only), and lowest cost per month to the end user (traditional paging is widely available at $10/month with unlimited use), then I think paging's position in the family of successful wireless communication technologies is secure. And, paging is now celebrating the fifteenth year of its forecasted demise.” [Emphasis supplied]

Similar sentiments have been expressed by Gerald McGowan, Esq., a partner in the Washington, D.C. law firm of Lukas, McGowan, Nace & Gutierrez, a recognized expert in telecommunications law who is very knowledgeable of the paging industry in particular, and has the following to say about the industry:

“People have been predicting the downfall of paging ever since I entered the field as a young lawyer in 1975. The emergence of each new wireless service was purported to be the death knell of paging. The naysayers failed to see that the new technologies had a 'coattail' effect — they increased customer awareness of the pager as a lower-cost alternative. Moreover, if there is one certainty in the communications industry, it is that the telecommunications pie is increasing at an exponential rate, not decreasing or staying static. The various wireless technologies out there are not perfect substitutes. Thus, consumers do not necessarily think, 'do I need a pager or a cellular PCS phone?' Substantial numbers of consumers choose both.”

MobileMedia's buying spree and other missteps . We believe that the financial difficulties experienced by MobileMedia which led to its filing for bankruptcy protection were caused by mistakes made by the management team installed after the departure of MobileMedia's CEO, COO and senior vice president of operations. Over a three-year period, MobileMedia grew to become the nation's second largest paging company, purportedly with 4.5 million pager customers. The Company's growth was accomplished by its acquisition of a number of other paging concerns, financed through the means of $1.2 billion of capital and debt raised through two bond offerings totaling approximately $450 million, $150 million in equity infusion by the San Francisco investment firm of Hellman & Friedman, and $650 million in secured loans from a consortium of banks led by Chase Manhattan Bank. In addition to acquiring other paging operations, MobileMedia participated in the FCC-conducted auctions for the new narrowband PCS frequencies, paying in excess of $50 million to acquire a new narrowband PCS frequency license, and in addition, when it acquires BellSouth's paging facilities, it acquired an additional narrowband PCS frequency, for which BellSouth had paid in excess of $47 million. That sounded exciting to the Company and probably its lenders and investors. However, they all forgot one small detail. To utilize these new frequencies and licenses, MobileMedia would have to build out systems at a cost we estimate to be in excess of $100 million — money the Company would have to now raise. The recent FCC decision in regard to MobileMedia, stripping it of locations, may well be a blessing in disguise.

The Chapter 11 case is an opportunity to take corrective action . The Chapter 11 case of MobileMedia presents a unique opportunity for the Company to make substantial changes both internally in its management and strategies and financially, as regards its debt structure after it emerges from Chapter 11. In a discussion with Leon C. Marcus, Esq., of the New York law firm of Phillips, Lytle, Hitchcock, Blaine & Huber, and a leading bankruptcy law expert, he draws the following scenario for a re-emergent, lean and mean MobileMedia.

“Through a plan of reorganization in the Chapter 11 Case, MobileMedia will be able to shed a substantial amount of its annual debt servicing payments. If it is determined that its secured bank lenders are 'under-secured,' then they will not receive interest payments during the pendency of the Chapter 11 Case, and most likely will take a 'haircut' on the debt owed to them when the Company comes out of its bankruptcy case. The almost $450 million in unsecured bond debt [which was trading in the teens just prior to the Chapter 11 filing], will most likely be converted to equity. Thus an emerging, reorganized MobileMedia will have tens of millions of dollars less in debt servicing payments, monies that can be directed to working capital, customer relations and servicing and advertising. In the right hands, I believe MobileMedia can emerge as a strong, viable company.”

Robert Edwards Associates' rationale for optimism . Early in this article, we stated that it is our opinion that there will indeed be continued, strong growth in the paging industry for the foreseeable future for a number of reasons, which we listed — the self same reasons for optimism cited by the Bear Stearns analyst. We would like to expand on this theme, detailing the specifics for each of the elements.

• A pager costs less. The conventional pager will always cost less to manufacture than a cellular telephone, a PCS telephone, or a two-way pager. It is a receive-only device. Other wireless devices contain both a receiver and a transmitter. This adds considerable cost to the unit because two radios are required inside the same package.
• Better battery life. By virtue of being a receiver only, as opposed to being a transceiver (transmitter and receiver), the battery life of a conventional pager will always be much longer than other wireless communication devices. A transmitter consumes much more energy from a battery than a receiver. Several market studies by pager manufacturers have shown that consumers do not like to replace the battery frequently. Batteries last about four months under normal use in the newer pagers.
• Simulcasting is superior technology. The way information is usually transmitted to a conventional pager is called “simulcasting.” This technical term means “simultaneous broadcasting” from multiple transmitters (and towers). No other wireless service can make this claim. Simulcasting is superior to other methods like cellular, which have to transmit a “where are you” signal from many different cells — this is where the name cellular comes from. This makes paging a little faster, but what is more important, since the signal going out to the pager comes from multiple locations, the chance of successfully getting the message to the pager is dramatically improved. Penetration into buildings, tunnels, and underground parking areas is better because the signals are coming in from several different directions.
• Better penetration into buildings and fewer missed messages. Like in the theater, if only one spotlight is used, the stage will have harsh shadows and the actors will not be able to be seen clearly. With multiple lights shining from the front and the sides, we can see everything better and enjoy the play.
• Efficient use of radio resources. There are other technical advantages since all the information being sent to the pager is going out over one radio channel. Radio channel licenses cost “big bucks” these days and more paging subscribers can be served on one radio channel with conventional paging than any other type of personal wireless service. Two-way paging requires a different kind of radio channel with a broader bandwidth, and cellular telephone uses hundreds of radio channels.
• Smaller, lighter weight unit and is more convenient to utilize effectively. How about the size of the device, that is important too! Yes, some of the cell phones are getting very small, but look at the size of the new pagers. Remember a pager only has one radio in it and a cell phone or a two-way pager has two. Did you know that some of the early pagers were the size of a bread box? They were installed in trucks and were very heavy. Modern pagers have become very small. Some are the size of a box of matches, some are built into wrist watches, some look like fountain pens, and some are worn as a pendant on a cord or chain around the neck. The conventional one-way pager should always be smaller than other wireless devices.

Conclusion. Robert Edwards Associates strongly believes that the paging industry has the ability to continue to experience robust growth into the new millennium and beyond, and produce meaningful profits for its stockholders and investors.

First published on the Internet: February 1, 1997

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11.18.2016

Letter to Congress:

Personal Privacy, Mobile Security Threats, Deceptive Trade, & Smartphone Customer Exploitation

Dear Honorable Member of Congress,

Due to a Samsung Galaxy Note Smartphone Analysis and a formal FCC privacy complaint (FCC ticket#423849/public record) I filed, T-Mobile has confirmed that smartphones are not a private form of telecommunications and computing:

“We, too, remember a time before smartphones when it was reasonable to conclude that when you activated service with T-Mobile that only T-Mobile would have access to our personal information. However, with the Samsung Galaxy Note, the iPhone, and many other devices, there are indeed a variety of parties that may collect and use information .” — T-Mobile Privacy Team ( November 6th, 2015/FCC Consumer Complaint #423849/Public Record ).  The full letter can be downloaded from my website Terms May Apply (see link below).

When I purchased smartphones for myself and family, T-Mobile did not mention that a multitude of international corporations would access, collect, aggregate, and use our telecom related personal and professional information for profits.

I had to file a formal privacy complaint with the FCC to get T-Mobile to admit that smartphones are not a private form of telecommunications and computing.  As a matter of fact, my research confirms that nearly 100% of all smartphone related activity is recorded, collected, aggregated, and used by a multitude of international corporations (see link to my website for details).

The personal and professional information collected from our smartphones by multinational corporations includes the user’s ID, contacts, calendar data, text messages, email attachments, call logs, motion data, location data, fitness data, auto telematics, plus other highly sensitive user information.  Third-parties are also able to access hardware such as the camera and microphone to take pictures, record audio, and video without the consent of the device user.  Third-parties are collecting telecom related information that should be protected by due process and the 4^th amendment.

Furthermore, my smartphone contained nontransparent predatory apps that can access personal and professional information from multiple sources such as any connected technology that can sync to the smartphone.  This means that without consent or knowledge, third-parties are capable of hacking information from any PC, smartTV, connected auto, tablet PC, social media pages, plus any source that can sync to the phone (see enclosed syncing app permission). 

This means that third-parties (Google, Apple, & others) are hacking personal and professional information from multiple sources by the use of nontransparent predatory syncing apps and cross user data mining apps that can hack information from multiple users whom are connected playing a game or sharing information.

Pre-installed surveillance and predatory technology such as apps also include hidden app permissions, app product warnings, and interactive apps (backdoors to multiple entities).  Below are examples of nontransparent app permissions with app product warnings:

Due to the nontransparent data mining business practices (apps & complex T&C’s) employed by companies such as T-Mobile, AT&T, Apple, Google, Samsung, and others, I believe legal experts and law makers need to address questions pertaining to deceptive trade practices and fraud inducement.

To clarify, my documentation coupled with T-Mobile’s admission has confirmed that multinational corporations are monitoring, tracking, and data mining US citizens, business professionals, public servants, and children under 18 via protected telecom products such as smartphones.  Parents are unaware that many multinational corporations are collecting, aggregating, and using highly sensitive user data collected from children under 18 without parental consent.

My research, documentation, and analysis also has brought to light numerous personal and professional privacy concerns that include third-party access to personal information, business data, and medical data. 

The third-party data mining of US citizens, business professionals, public servants, and children under 18 has brought to light numerous public and national security threats due to the fact my research uncovered some android apps with backdoors to companies from countries such as China.  See BAIDU and Facebook Example:

The New York Times just published an article pertaining to leaky apps with back doors to China found by Kryptowire ( http://mobile.nytimes.com/2016/11/16/us/politics/china-phones-software-security.html ).  My findings coupled with Kryptowire’s findings confirms that there are numerous mobile threat concerns associated with allowing third-parties to use nontransparent methods to data mine protected telecom related personal and professional information from US citizens via their cellular telephones (smartphones).

I have found the backdoor to BAIDU (China) plus other backdoors to multinational corporations two years ago while doing my research. In April of 2015, I escalated my findings to T-Mobile and Samsung.  In July of 2015 I escalated my findings to the FCC and in November of 2015 I escalated a report specific to backdoors to T-Mobile, Samsung, and the FCC. 

In addition I have escalated these threats to the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) in Aug of 2016.  To date I have not received any confirmation that T-Mobile, Samsung, the FCC or the DHS are following up on the mobile threats I highlighted and sent to their attention. 

The issue with backdoors to multinational corporations is wide spread and systemic to all connected products which means that there is nothing private when using PC’s, connected autos, smartTV’s, wearable Tech, tablets, in-building climate control systems (nest), and other IoT connected technology which contain surveillance and predatory technology.

US citizens are inviting the world into their lives when they use connected products and services laced with nontransparent surveillance and predatory pre-installed technology (apps) that cannot be un-installed, controlled, or disabled by the user. 

Connected product users are in essence uncompensated personal information producers whom are being exploited by companies such as AT&T, T-Mobile, Google, Apple, Samsung and others.  Consumers are paying the bills while these companies exploit their personal and professional information for profit while not being transparent to the product owners and users.

I am seeking transparency pertaining to all data mining practices employed by T-Mobile, AT&T, Apple, Google, Samsung, and others.  These companies are legally responsible for providing full transparency to their paying customers.  I want know how our personal information is being sold, shared, used, purchased, and aggregated by all parties whom have access to the information.

In addition, I am appealing to law makers to establish an electronic bill of rights enabling connected product owners and users the ability to control whom can have access to their personal information.  Product users should be able to uninstall and disable any intrusive surveillance and predatory technologies.  Product users should have full control over any app permission and be able to deny any app permission.

Product users should be able to opt out while still participating in regards to products and services that require payment to participate.  Telecom subscribers and consumers should not be subject to complex terms and conditions that are impossible to read and understand. 

In closing, my research showed that my Samsung Galaxy Note terms of use (T&C’s, privacy policies, EULA’s) exceeded well over 1,000 pages of complicated legalese written in a manner to conceal predatory data mining business practices.  My research also highlighted the fact that app permissions, app product warnings, and interactive app permissions (backdoors) were not published in the product terms of use for me to review before purchasing and activating the smartphones. 

US citizens should not have to give up their 4th amendment rights and due process simply because they accepted a set of predatory T&C’s associated with connected products and services.  It is unknown if state actors (friendly/hostile/foreign/domestic) can access or buy personal information from companies such as Google which would enable the state actors to circumvent a smartphone users’ 4th amendment rights and due process.

I am seeking help from lawmakers  to force T-Mobile, AT&T, Apple, Google, Samsung, and others to be transparent about their data mining business practices and how personal and professional information is being used, shared, sold, purchased, and aggregated.  It would be unsettling for me to understand that I am paying for products and services that could bring harm to my loved ones, myself, and my business dealings.

Please feel free to contact me for more information.  I expect legal experts and law makers to take action.

Regards,

/s/

Rex M. Lee

Visit my website Terms May Apply to review a Department of Homeland Security Report, Samsung Galaxy Note Smartphone Analysis, and more information pertaining to pre-installed surveillance technology: www.TermsMayApply.com

You can contact me at RLee@TermsMayApply.com   P.S. Please Take Action & Demand Transparency!

Disclaimer: I am not confirming that any company mentioned is unlawfully collecting personal and professional information.  I am not confirming that any company mentioned is unlawfully misusing any personal and professional information.

Specialists in sales and service of equipment from these leading manufacturers, as well as other two-way radio and paging products:

	Motorola SOLUTIONS
	Motorola MOBILITY

Disaster-Proven Paging for Public Safety

Paging 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

• It’s much faster to send individual and stacked pages digitally than with analog voice.
• If you want better indoor coverage, you put sites closer together at lower heights.
• A self-healing system that also remains reliable in various disaster situations.
• Place base station where you need them, without the usage of an expensive backhaul network.
• Protect victim confidentiality and prevent unauthorized use of public safety communications, with integrated encryption service.

Pager

• Reliable message reception, thanks to the best sensitivity in the industry.
• Ruggedized and waterproof, IP67 and 6 1/2-feet drop test-certified products.
• Battery autonomy of up to three months, with a standard AA battery.
• Bluetooth enables the new s.QUAD pager to respond back to the dispatch center or fire chief.

Dispatching:

• Two-way CAD interfaces will make dispatching much easier.
• The new s.ONE solution enables the dispatcher or fire chiefs to view the availability of relief forces.
• A graphical screen shows how many of the dispatched team members have responded to the call.

Swissphone provides a proven solution at an affordable cost. Do you want to learn more?
Visit: www.swissphone.com or call 800-596-1914.

Successful Launch of the Tetra Pager P8GR in Germany

23-11-2016
Source: MCCResources

Delivery of 50,000 pagers to fire brigades and disaster management, rescue and aid organisations has begun in Hesse

Public safety authorities and organisations (BOS) in Hesse are now able to use the Tetra pager P8GR from Airbus Defence and Space. This device for a two-way communication system is now being delivered to at least 50,000 fire fighters and other rescue and relief workers in the German regional state of Hesse. Operational deployment of the device has now officially started.

The P8GR met the certification requirements of the German Federal Agency for Public Safety Digital Radio (BDBOS). It also satisfied the functionality, interoperability and safety requirements set for Germany’s BOS digital radio network in the course of its final acceptance by the Hesse Ministry of the Interior and Sports.

The Hesse BOS tested a total of 1,000 devices and their accessories during the successful comprehensive field and function tests. This was founded on the fact that Airbus Defence and Space developed the P8GR jointly with future users, staying in constant contact with them.

“This final acceptance sends out a signal for our markets in Europe, because Airbus Defence and Space has swiftly developed a mission-critical innovation into a product that is suitable for the most demanding markets,” says Markus Kolland, Head of Sales and Delivery for Europe and Africa of Secure Land Communications at Airbus Defence and Space.

In contrast to existing analogue devices, the P8GR enables secure two-way communication between the control centre and the operational units. It offers all the essential Tetra features for alerting groups, subgroups and individuals. At the same time, the P8GR allows the planning and dispatching of emergency services personnel in real time.

It is expected that the entire emergency personnel in Hesse will be using the pager by the end of 2018.

Wednesday, November 23, 2016		Volume 4 | Issue 230

INDUSTRY SAFETY ALERT!
INSPECTION NOTICE – 3M™ DBI-SALA® LADSAF™ X2 and X3 SLEEVES
IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUIRED

A notification yesterday from NATE stated that 3M Fall Protection (formerly Capital Safety) has identified a limited number of Lad-Saf X2/X3 sleeves with the locking lever not working properly. This condition can allow the sleeve to disengage from the cable during use. The assembly error is believed to affect only a limited number of units and has been corrected. There have been no accidents or injuries related to this issue.

NATE encourages all member companies and industry stakeholders to consult the Inspection Notice for more details.

Small Cell Forecast Predicts ‘Healthy’ CAGR Through 2021

ABI Research’s latest study dubbed the “Outdoor Small Cell Forecast” is out and shows outdoor small cells will have a “healthy” 38 percent CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) through 2021, as reported on by YAHOO Finance.

LTE small cells are the fastest growing small cell type in 2016, thanks to venue and dense urban deployments. The research study also predicts that LTE small cells will double by the end of the year and each year after Mobile Network Operators “put in place the framework for 5G deployments.” YAHOO reports that by 2021, the value of LTE small cells will amount to almost 70 percent of the entire equipment market.

MNOs are finding that deploying small cells is an effective way to boost network capacity in both urban and suburban markets with high traffic.

"MNOs on every continent, such as China Mobile, Verizon, and Vodafone, among others, are now investing in network densification," Nick Marshall, Research Director at ABI Research, told YAHOO Finance. ”The results of this can be seen in the ramp of small cells this year."

The research study also predicted that LTE’s growing networks and 4G deployments in the Asia-Pacific region will represent almost half of the worldwide small cell equipment market by 2021.

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

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

SEE WEB FOR COMPLETE LIST:

www.preferredwireless.com/equipment

Rick McMichael
Preferred Wireless, Inc.
Telephone: 888-429-4171
(If you are calling from outside of the USA, please use: 314-575-8425)
rickm@preferredwireless.com

Enbridge helping to replace Pelham firefighter pagers

By Wayne Campbell, for Postmedia Network
Tuesday, November 22, 2016 7:17:12 EST PM

(Postmedia Network)

A $12,000 donation from Enbridge will help Pelham Fire Department replace its pagers.

Brent Bullough, community engagement adviser with Enbridge, presented a cheque to Mayor Dave Augustyn and fire Chief Bob Lymburner during Pelham town council’s regular meeting Monday.

The donation comes from the company’s Safe Community Program. It provides financial help to purchase equipment or training for municipal first responders.

Pelham has an Enbridge pipeline crude oil carrier that runs from Hamilton to a refinery on the east side of the Niagara River in New York.

It’s one of three pipelines crossing the town.

Lymburner said Pelham applies to the safety program each year and has received donations before.

Pelham will have to spend an estimated $400,000 over the next couple of years, he said, to replace and upgrade pagers, radios and other communication equipment for firefighters, fire trucks and fire stations.

Niagara Region is standardizing its police, fire and emergency measures communication systems. Currently each is different.

“We’re a small municipality,” said Lymburner. “Our bill is not big compared to millions the cities will spend.”

“We are pleased to receive this generous donation from Enbridge to help upgrade some of our emergency communications equipment,” he said.

Since its inception in 2002, the Enbridge safe community program has given about $9.3 million to organizations across North America.

“The Town of Pelham’s efforts to update and modernize its emergency communications systems will contribute to a safer community for everyone,” said Bullough.

Pelham Fire Services has 91 active volunteer firefighters trained in CPR and first aid, defibrillation, suppression services, vehicle extrication, fire prevention and public safety.

Volunteers from stations in Fonthill, Fenwick and North Pelham protect more than 16,000 residents and nearly 7,000 properties.

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.

BloostonLaw wishes our clients a Happy Thanksgiving Holiday.
Our offices will be closed Thursday, November 24
and Friday, November 25

Holiday Edition

REMINDER: CAF BLS Buildout Methodology Selection Due December 5

All carriers less than 80 percent deployed with 10/1 broadband service are required to select a methodology for calculating deployment obligations and inform the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) by December 5th, 2016. Each carrier can choose to have its deployment obligation determined by one of two methods: the applicable CAF-BLS amount divided by (1) the average cost of providing 10/1 Mbps service, based on the weighted average cost per loop of carriers that have deployed 10/1 Mbps service to 95 percent or more of the locations in their study area, or 150 percent of the weighted average cost per loop of companies with similar density and level of deployment, whichever is greater, or (2) the Alternative Connect America Cost Model’s calculation of the cost per location of providing 10/1 Mbps service in the unserved census blocks in the carrier’s study area.

Specifics on the deployment obligation under each method for each study area are available at: https://transition.fcc.gov/wcb/SacBuildoutSheetDisplay.xlsx. Carriers with questions should contact the firm without delay.

BloostonLaw Contacts: Ben Dickens, Gerry Duffy, Mary Sisak, and Sal Taillefer.

REMINDER: CAF BLS 15-Day Tariff Filings Due December 19

On October 6, the FCC released an Order establishing procedures for the filing of access charge tariffs and Tariff Review Plans (TRPs) for incumbent local exchange carriers (LECs) subject to rate-of-return regulation (rate-of-return LECs) that elect to offer broadband-only loop service beginning January 3, 2017, whether on a tariffed or detariffed basis. This includes rate-of-return LECs subject to either section 61.38 or section 61.39 of the Commission’s rules, whether they elect model-based support or Connect America Fund Broadband Loop Support (CAF BLS). 15-day tariff filings are due by December 19.

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

DC Circuit Court Remands VoIP Symmetry Ruling

On November 18, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit issued an order vacating and remanding the FCC’s Declaratory Ruling of February 11, 2015, in which the FCC held that the VoIP Symmetry rule adopted in the USF/ICC Transformation Order is technology and facilities neutral, and therefore does not require a competitive LEC or its VoIP provider partner to provide the physical last-mile facility to the VoIP provider’s end user customers in order for the competitive LEC to be eligible to assess access charges for this service.

AT&T challenged the FCC’s Declaratory Ruling on two grounds: first, the ruling cannot be upheld as an interpretation of the Transformation Order; and second, that it was arbitrary and capricious for the FCC to apply that interpretation retroactively. As the court summarized, “The Federal Communications Commission says that they are end-office switching services. Petitioner AT&T says that they are tandem switching services.” Regarding the first argument, the court held that the Declaratory Ruling “did not disclose the FCC’s reasoning with the requisite clarity to enable us to sustain its conclusion.” As a result, the court vacated the Declaratory Ruling and ordered the FCC to better explain its conclusion, and did not need to reach the second issue.

The VoIP symmetry rule, codified in section 51.913(b) of the FCC’s rules, permits a local exchange carrier to assess and collect reciprocal compensation charges regardless of whether the local exchange carrier delivers the traffic itself or uses a VoIP provider to do so, as long as the VoIP provider does not itself seek to collect the Reciprocal Compensation charges.

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

Seven Senators Urge the FCC to Crack Down on Zero-Rating

On November 18, Senators Edward J. Markey (D-MA), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Al Franken (D-MN), Bernie Sanders (D-VT), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) sent a letter to Chairman Wheeler, calling upon the FCC to “take enforcement action against harmful zero-rating offerings that violate the principles of the Open Internet Order.” Zero-rating is the practice of allowing certain content to be streamed by users without counting toward the user’s data limits. “Without proper oversight and enforcement action, zero-rating can discriminate against certain services, potentially distorting competition, stifling innovation, and hampering user choice and free speech.”

The Senators raised four areas of concern:

• An ISP zero-rating its own or unaffiliated content but excluding competitors should be considered a violation of net neutrality.
• ISPS charging fees to zero-rate content should be considered a violation of net neutrality.
• The FCC should pay close scrutiny to the impact of zero-rating plans in which the ISP, not the consumer, has the power to choose which applications, websites, and services are zero-rated.
• Application agnostic zero-rating should be reviewed, but does not pose as great a concern.

BloostonLaw Contacts: Ben Dickens, Gerry Duffy, and Sal Taillefer.

FCC Proposes $100,000 Fine for Failure to File Form 499-A, Application for Transfer of Control

On November 18, the FCC issued a Notice of Apparent Liability proposing a penalty of $100,000 against WDT World Discount Telecommunications Co., Inc. (WDT) for an apparent violation of the FCC’s universal service reporting obligations by failing to file one annual revenue report, and for transferring, without prior FCC approval, certain assets, including its customer base, and for collecting USF surcharges on which it had no contribution obligation.

According to the NAL, WDT failed to timely submit an Annual Worksheet – also known as the 499 reporting revenue for 2012, which was due April 1, 2013. WDT submitted its 2013 Annual Worksheet on November 27, 2015, more than 31 months late. Pursuant to Section 54.711(a) of the Rules, telecommunications providers such as WDT are required to timely file Telecommunications Reporting Worksheets to provide the information necessary to calculate amounts that a service provider must contribute to federal regulatory programs.

On January 1, 2016, WDT consummated a transfer of its assets, including a transfer of its customer base, to Master Call Connections LLC, another telecommunications provider, without obtaining prior Commission approval. Section 214 of the Act requires telecommunications carriers to obtain a certificate of public convenience and necessity from the Commission before constructing, acquiring, operating, or engaging in the transmission of common carrier communications services over communications lines, and before discontinuing, reducing, or impairing service to a community. In addition, the Commission’s Rules also state that sales of assets that include a company’s customer base should be treated as transfers of control requiring Commission approval. Pursuant to Section 54.706(c), WDT qualified for LIRE from 2011-2015 because its interstate revenue equaled less than 12 percent of its combined interstate and international revenue. As a result, WDT was exempt from contributing to the USF based on its international revenues. However, upon investigation, WDT apparently billed customers for excessive and unlawful USF surcharges for international service this entire period, despite having no USF contribution obligation on those revenues.

BloostonLaw Contacts: Ben Dickens, Gerry Duffy, John Prendergast, Mary Sisak, and Sal Taillefer.

FCC Signs Robocall Memorandum of Understanding with Canadian Counterpart

On November 17, the FCC announced a formal agreement between its Enforcement Bureau and the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission to work together to combat unlawful robocalls. The Memorandum of Understanding represents the FCC’s commitment to working cooperatively with international regulators to combat robocalls and caller ID spoofing.

Under the agreement, the two agencies agree to cooperate on enforcement matters related to unlawful robocalls and caller ID spoofing. These agencies have also committed to exchange information about investigations and complaints, share knowledge and expertise, provide information about legal theories and economic analysis, keep each other abreast of significant legal developments, and provide other appropriate assistance.

This agreement follows on the heels of a similar memorandum of understanding that the Enforcement Bureau signed last June with members of the Unsolicited Communications Enforcement Network (formerly the London Action Plan). This coalition coordinates and promotes international cooperation and activities targeting unlawful communications like robocall and robotext scams. Members, like the FCC, share intelligence, identify common threats, learn from each other’s best practices, and assist each other with investigations where permissible.

BloostonLaw Contacts: John Prendergast and Sal Taillefer.

Trump Picks Jeffrey Eisenach and Mark Jamison to Lead FCC Transition

On November 21, President-elect Donald Trump announced Jeffrey Eisenach and Mark Jamison to head the FCC’s transition from Democratic to Republican control. Eisenach is the managing director and co-chair of the communications, media and Internet practice NERA Economic Consulting, an adjunct professor at George Mason University School of Law, and director of the Center for Internet, Communications, and Technology Policy at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI). He previously worked on the Reagan and George H.W. Bush transition teams. Jamison heads the Public Utility Research Center at the University of Florida, and is a visiting fellow at AEI.

BloostonLaw Contacts: Ben Dickens, Gerry Duffy, Mary Sisak, and Sal Taillefer.

Deadlines

JANUARY 17: HAC REPORTING DEADLINE. The next Hearing Aid Compatible (HAC) reporting deadline for digital commercial mobile radio service (CMRS) providers (including carriers that provide service using AWS-1 spectrum and resellers of cellular, broadband PCS and/or AWS services) is Tuesday, January 17, 2017 (by operation of FCC rules, the Sunday, January 15th date is pushed to the next business day and Monday the 16th is the Martin Luther King Day federal holiday).. Non-Tier I service providers must offer to consumers at least 50 percent of the handset models per air interface, or a minimum of ten handset models per air interface, that meet or exceed the M3 rating, and at least one-third of the handset models per air interface, or a minimum of ten handset models per air interface, that meet or exceed the T3 rating. Month-to-month handset offering information provided in annual reports must be current through the end of 2016. With many of our clients adjusting their handset offerings and making new devices available to customers throughout the year, it is very easy for even the most diligent carriers to stumble unknowingly into a non-compliance situation, resulting in fines starting at $15,000 for each HAC-enabled handset they are deficient. Following the T-Mobile USA Notice of Apparent Liability (FCC 12-39), the Commission’s enforcement policy calls for multiplying the $15,000 per-handset fine by the number of months of the deficiency, creating the potential for very steep fines. It is therefore crucial that our clients pay close attention to their HAC regulatory compliance, and monthly checks are strongly recommended. In this regard, we have prepared a HAC reporting template to assist our clients in keeping track of their HAC handset offerings, and other regulatory compliance efforts. ALL SERVICE PROVIDERS SUBJECT TO THE COMMISSION’S HAC RULES – INCLUDING COMPANIES THAT QUALIFY FOR THE DE MINIMIS EXCEPTION – MUST PARTICIPATE IN ANNUAL HAC REPORTING. To the extent that your company is a provider of broadband PCS, cellular and/or interconnected SMR services, if you are a CMRS reseller and/or if you have plans to provide CMRS using newly licensed (or partitioned) AWS or 700 MHz spectrum, you and your company will need to be familiar with the Commission’s revised rules.

BloostonLaw contacts: Cary Mitchell and Sal Taillefer.

FEBRUARY 1: FCC FORM 499-Q, TELECOMMUNICATIONS REPORTING WORKSHEET. All telecommunications common carriers that expect to contribute more than $10,000 to federal Universal Service Fund (USF) support mechanisms must file this quarterly form. The FCC has modified this form in light of its decision to establish interim measures for USF contribution assessments. The form contains revenue information from the prior quarter plus projections for the next quarter. Form 499-Q relates only to USF contributions. It does not relate to the cost recovery mechanisms for the Telecommunications Relay Service (TRS) Fund, the North American Numbering Plan Administration (NANPA), and the shared costs of local number portability (LNP), which are covered in the annual Form 499-A that is due April 1.

BloostonLaw Contacts: Ben Dickens, Gerry Duffy, and Sal Taillefer.

FEBRUARY 1: FCC FORM 502, NUMBER UTILIZATION AND FORECAST REPORT. Any wireless or wireline carrier (including paging companies) that have received number blocks--including 100, 1,000, or 10,000 number blocks--from the North American Numbering Plan Administrator (NANPA), a Pooling Administrator, or from another carrier, must file Form 502 by February 1. Carriers porting numbers for the purpose of transferring an established customer’s service to another service provider must also report, but the carrier receiving numbers through porting does not. Resold services should also be treated like ported numbers, meaning the carrier transferring the resold service to another carrier is required to report those numbers but the carrier receiving such numbers should not report them. Reporting carriers are required to include their FCC Registration Number (FRN). Reporting carriers file utilization and forecast reports semiannually on or before February 1 for the preceding six-month reporting period ending December 31, and on or before August 1 for the preceding six-month reporting period ending June 30.

BloostonLaw Contacts: Ben Dickens, Gerry Duffy, and Sal Taillefer.

Calendar At-A-Glance

December
Dec. 2 – Deadline to File Notice of Forbearance Election for Lifeline Broadband Support.
Dec. 2 – Comments are due on AT&T Tariff Forbearance Petition.
Dec. 5 – Deadline to Select CAF-BLS Deployment Obligation Methodology.
Dec. 19 – Deadline for 15-Day Tariff Filings.
Dec. 19 – Reply comments are due on AT&T Tariff Forbearance Petition.
Dec. 20 – Form 323 (Biennial Ownership Report) is due.
Dec. 22 – Reply comments are due on PLMRS NPRM.
Dec. 27 – Comments are due on the Independent Programming NPRM.
Dec. 27 – Deadline for 7-Day Tariff Filings.
Dec. 27 – Deadline for Petitions re: 15-Day Tariff Filings.
Dec. 29 – Deadline for Petitions re: 7-Day Tariff Filings (noon, EST).
Dec. 30 – Deadline for Replies to Petitions re: 15-Day Tariff Filings (noon, EST).
Dec. 30 – Deadline for Replies to Petitions re: 7-Day Tariff Filings (noon, EST).

January
Jan. 15 – Annual Hearing Aid Compatibility Report is due.
Jan. 23 – Reply comments are due on the Independent Programming NPRM.
Jan. 31 – FCC Form 555 (Annual Lifeline ETC Certification Form) is due.

February
Feb. 1 – FCC Form 499-Q (Quarterly Telecommunications Reporting Worksheet) is due.
Feb. 1 – FCC Form 502 (Number Utilization and Forecast Report) is due.

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 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.

Note: We do not like Patent Trolls, i.e. “a person or company who enforces patent rights against accused infringers in an attempt to collect licensing fees, but does not manufacture products or supply services based upon the patents in question.” We have helped some prominent law firms defend their clients against this annoyance, and would be happy to do some more of this same kind of work.

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Powerful Next-Gen Weather Satellite Launches
to Begin Forecasting 'Revolution'

By Mike Wall, Space.com Senior Writer
November 19, 2016 07:30pm ET

A powerful new satellite that will give forecasters their best-ever looks at storms and other severe weather has taken to the skies.

The GOES-R weather satellite lifted off from Florida's Cape Canaveral Air Force Station today (Nov. 19) at 6:42 p.m. EST (2342 GMT), riding a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket to orbit. The spectacular launch, which lit up the Florida evening sky, occurred about one hour later than planned due to issues with the rocket and launch range that were swiftly resolved.

GOES-R is the first of four new advanced weather satellites that are, somewhat confusingly, collectively known as GOES-R. The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which manages the GOES-R program, is expecting big things from all four of these spacecraft. [ See more GOES-R launch and mission photos ]

"Without a doubt, GOES-R will revolutionize weather forecasting as we know it," Stephen Volz, assistant administrator for NOAA's Satellite and Information Services division, said during a pre-launch news conference on Thursday (Nov. 17).

"For weather forecasters, GOES-R will be similar to going from a black-and-white TV to super-high-definition TV," Volz added. "For the American public, that will mean faster, more accurate weather forecasts and warnings. That also will mean more lives saved and better environmental intelligence for state and local officials and all decision makers."

The GOES-R satellite streaks into space aboard an Atlas V rocket in this long-exposure view of its successful launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on Nov. 19, 2016. Credit: United Launch Alliance

Famed NBC Today Show weather man Al Roker, one of many TV meteorologists who attended the GOES satellite launch, agreed with Volz.

"What's so exciting is that we're going to be getting more data, more often, with much more detail and higher resolution," Roker told NASA's Stephanie Martin during live launch commentary today. The new GOES satellite will help improve not only weather forecasts but hurricane and tornado predictions as well, Roker added.

"If we can give people another 10, 15 or 20 minutes, we're talking about lives being saved," Roker said.

Artist's illustration of the GOES-R weather satellite in space. GOES-R launched on Nov. 19, 2016, and will reach its final geostationary orbit about two weeks later (at which point its name will change to GOES-16). Credit: NASA

GOES-R is the 16th GOES (Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite) craft to make it to space — and the satellite will be renamed GOES-16 when it reaches its final orbit, about two weeks from now. GOES satellites have been studying weather patterns from above for more than four decades; GOES-1 launched way back in October 1975. Two GOES craft, known as GOES-East and GOES-West based on their orbital positions, are doing this work now; a third GOES spacecraft is also aloft and serves as an on-orbit spare. [Earth from Space: See the Amazing NASA Photos]

The GOES satellites operate from geostationary orbit, about 22,300 miles (35,890 kilometers) above Earth's surface along the equator. At this altitude, their orbital speeds match the rotational speed of Earth, so the spacecraft can keep continuous tabs on the same stretch of land. In this case, that means the United States and much of the rest of the Western Hemisphere.

NOAA officials said that GOES-R's six-instrument suite represents a big upgrade from the equipment on GOES-East and GOES-West, which launched in 2006 and 2010, respectively.

For example, GOES-R's primary instrument, called the Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI), will gather three times more data, with four times higher resolution, than comparable gear on GOES-East and GOES-West. And ABI will be able to scan the landscape five times faster to boot, NOAA officials said.

GOES-R is also the first satellite to carry a lightning mapper to geostationary orbit. This instrument will photograph lightning activity throughout the Western Hemisphere about 200 times every second, NOAA officials said.

"When you compare all those [photos], you get a sense of where the severe weather is starting to really brew," Greg Mandt, GOES-R system program director at NOAA, said during the same news conference. "So with this information, the weather service will be able to make longer lead-time forecasts of severe weather and do it with much higher confidence, reducing false alarms."

GOES-R should also increase the accuracy of forecasts in the space-weather realm, Mandt added. One of the satellite's instruments will image the surface of the sun, for instance, while others will monitor the amount of energy coming from the star and the activity of charged particles zooming near Earth.

All of this information should give researchers a heads up about solar storms that could affect satellite navigation, power grids and other infrastructure, NOAA officials have said.

GOES-R won't start doing this work for a while; it's scheduled to begin operations about one year from now, after a lengthy checkout and validation phase. At that point, the satellite will take over for either GOES-East or GOES-West; it's unclear, at the moment, which spacecraft the newcomer will replace, Volz said.

When that happens, GOES-16 (as it will be called by that time) will take on the name of its predecessor. That'll be three name changes for the spacecraft in just 12 months' time: from GOES-R before launch to GOES-16 upon reaching its final orbit to GOES-East or -West upon the start of operations. (In case you were wondering, the current GOES-East and GOES-West were formerly called GOES-13 and GOES-15, respectively.)

GOES-R is designed to operate for 10 years, though it has enough fuel on board to last for 18 years, Volz said. The three GOES-R satellites yet to begin their missions — currently known as GOES-S, GOES-T and GOES-U — are scheduled to launch in 2018, 2019 and 2024, respectively.

This staggered slate should ensure that two satellites will continue collecting high-quality weather data as GOES-East and GOES-West through at least 2036, Mandt said.

The GOES-R program has a total budget of $10.8 billion through its entire life cycle, which runs from 2005 (when development began) through 2036. The project had already spent about $6.1 billion by the end of fiscal year 2015, NOAA officials have said.

The aerospace company Lockheed Martin is building the four GOES-R satellites. NOAA manages the GOES-R program, with assistance from NASA.