TELECOM Digest     Sun, 14 Mar 93 23:40:00 CST    Volume 13 : Issue 177

Index To This Issue:                      Moderator: Patrick A. Townson

   Re: Tell Me About Your Pager (Anthony J. Stieber)
   Re: Tell Me About Your Pager (Harold Hallikainen)
   Re: Tell Me About Your Pager (Samuelson S. Rehman)
   Re: NY World Trade Center - Some Telecom News (Joe George)
   Re: NY World Trade Center - Some Telecom News (Dave Levenson)
   Re: Cellular System A and B Info Wanted (Robert Berger)
   Re: Facsimile CNG Tone (Dave Levenson)
   Re: Quebec Yellow Pages Controversy (Dave Leibold)
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From: [email protected] (Anthony J Stieber)
Subject: Re: Tell Me About Your Pager
Date: 14 Mar 1993 22:26:07 GMT
Organization: Computing Services Division, University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee


In article <[email protected]> [email protected] (Steve
Forrette) writes:

> What about using paging to get data TO remote equipment?  Are there
> any devices that are pagers with an RS-232 port, instead of a display?
> This way, you could send (short) commands to remote locations, without
> requiring a phone line be present.

Yes, Motorola sells one called the NewsStream.  SkyTel sells the same
unit under the SkyStream name.  Hewlett-Packard sells their Mobile
Data Link cradle into which a NewStream slides into one side and an
HP-95LX MS-DOS palmtop computer slides into on the other side.  The
NewsStream will also work without the cradle on MS-DOS and Macintosh
laptop computers.

Here's some contact information for these and other companies:

Last Revision 1993.03.14

Packet and cellular radio modems and network providers, email gateways.

The latest version of this file is available via anonymous ftp on the
Internet as: csd4.csd.uwm.edu:/pub/Laptop/data.radio

This information is in no particular order.  I am but a customer of
some of these companies.  This information is not guaranteed, and may
be outright wrong.  Use at your own risk.  Please send additions or
corrections.

Mobitex packet radio network and Mobidem packet radio modem:

Ericsson GE Mobile Communications Inc., a division of Telefon AB LM Ericsson
Wireless Computing
15 E. Midland Ave.  Paramus, NJ
201-265-6600  201-265-9115 fax  800-223-6336

Packet radio network provider:

RAM Mobile Data
10 Woodbridge Ctr. Drive, Suite 950
Woodbridge, NJ 07095
800-736-9666    [email protected]

Ardis packet radio network and packet radio modems:

Iridium Satellite Digital Radio System
Motorola     800-247-2346

EMBARC data pager (Electronic Mail Broadcast to A Roaming Computer):

Motorola
800-EMBARC-4   800-362-2724

National paging and SkyStram:

SkyTel
800-456-3333 x764

Satellite radio system:

Ellipsat
Carincross Holdings Pty
Sydney, Australia

Internet, UUCP, CI$, ATT, etc mail gateway for pagers and packet radio
networks:

Anterior Technology
PO Box 1206    Menlo Park CA 94026-1206
415-328-5615   415-322-1753 fax
[email protected]  [email protected]

Cellular phone data modem, fax, etc, interfaces:

Axsys, Axcell
Spectrum Cellular Corporation
2611 Ceder Springs Road   Dallas, TX 75201
214-999-6000   214-880-0151

Axsys, Axcell dealer:

Applied Engineering
3210 Beltline Road   Dallas TX 75234
800-554-macs x401   214-241-6060   214-484-1365 fax

Wireless 9600bps modem, UHF RF, 50-200 yards:
$540, UK pounds 301

New Era Microsystems Ltd
24 Cargate Ave   Aldershot, Hamshire
GU11 3EW  UK     44-252-345426   44-252-317699 fax

Usenet to satellite uplink system:

415-424-0380     [email protected]

GPS reciever, GPSpac:

Palmtree Products, Inc.
145 Washington Street   Norwell, MA 02061
617-871-7050   617-871-6018 fax

Integrated cellular phone/modem:

Vital Communications
1983 Marcus Ave., Suite 111
Lake Success, NY 11042
800-42-VITAL   516-437-4400

Satellite radio:

Qualcomm

Satellite radio:

Inmarsat
Mobile Telesystems

AirLink wireless digital modems, 64kpbs to fractional T1:

Cylink Corporation
310 North Mary Avenue   Sunnyvale, CA 94086
800-533-3958   408-735-5800   408-720-8294 fax


<-:(= Anthony Stieber   [email protected]   uwm!uwmcsd4!anthony

------------------------------

From: [email protected] (Harold Hallikainen)
Subject: Re: Tell Me About Your Pager
Organization: California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
Date: Sun, 14 Mar 1993 19:40:10 GMT


In article <[email protected]> [email protected] (Steve
Forrette) writes:

> gotten.  I have service from PacTel Paging, and for $21 a month, I get
> coverage throughout WA, OR, CA, and AZ.  This is for a display pager.
> Local coverage only is $9 a month.

Our paging is from MetroMedia and runs $10/month for tone only for all
of CA, parts of NV and AZ.

> What about using paging to get data TO remote equipment?  Are there
> any devices that are pagers with an RS-232 port, instead of a display?
> This way, you could send (short) commands to remote locations, without
> requiring a phone line be present.

I got some info from Motorola on just such receivers, as I recall
(it's buried here somewhere ...).  Such receivers could be used in the
"data broadcasting" idea I mentioned before.  In our applications, we
need two way communications with the remote sites, so paging does not
seem feasible for that part of the system.  We have suggested people
get a "rack mount cellular phone" and plug our system into that when
no phone service is available at the site.  There are also the radio
link POTS "line extenders" that can be used to get POTS at a remote
site by radio.

> Also, why is there a delay in the delivery of pages?  I can understand
> when the system may get busy during the day, and pages are stacked up
> in the queue, but even in the middle of the night, it can take upwards
> of a minute for a page to be delivered.  Sometimes, they come almost
> instantly, then just a moment later, take almost a minute.  There's no
> way that the queue was empty, then suddenly built up to a big backlog,
> all of a sudden in the middle of the night.  Why are pages not just
> sent out immediately?

       I would think the only reason for any delay would be a backed

up queue somewhere in the system.  Since my pages are broadcast
throughout the state, there could be a lot of traffic somewhere else
that is causing the backlog.  I wonder if this is truly a "simulcast"
system where all sites transmit the pages simultaneously, or do they
maintain local queues and distribute pages to each site in some manner
similar to usenet news.  Is there just one queue for this system?  Or
is there one for each site.  I don't know if the paging frquency I'm
on also handles voice pages, but, if so, I'm sure that would really
slow things down.  What are the rates on voice pagers now?  I'd expect
them to be the most expensive, based on air time requirments.  Are
voice pages put on the air live, or are they stored and aired in
sequence, allowing several incoming phone calls simultaneously leaving
voice page messages.


Harold Hallikainen              [email protected]
Hallikainen & Friends, Inc.     [email protected]
141 Suburban Road, Bldg E4      phone 805 541 0200 fax 544 6715
San Luis Obispo, CA 93401-7590  telex 4932775 HFI UI

------------------------------

Reply-To: [email protected]
From: [email protected] (Samuelson S. Rehman)
Date: Sun, 14 Mar 1993 14:18:33 -0800
Subject: Re: Tell me About Your Pager


>> transmitter control systems.  On an alarm, the system would dump
>> transmitter parameters to the on call tech's pager (alphanumeric).

> What about using paging to get data TO remote equipment?  Are there
> any devices that are pagers with an RS-232 port, instead of a display?
> This way, you could send (short) commands to remote locations, without
> requiring a phone line be present.

We have developed a technology for transmiting encapsulated data in a
paging frequency, called Newspager (has been operating in four
countries for about three yours now), which has a serial port connected
to it. You can read and write to the built-in database system from
your PC. In fact, one of our licensee (HPL Hong Kong) has been using
Newspagers to driver and supply information to PCs for about a year
now. The version manufactured by Motorola is called Inflo, which has a
serial that supports up to 9600 bps, and another version by Uniden
which supports 4800 bps serial I/O. (You can call Motolora or send
email to [email protected] for details).

> Also, why is there a delay in the delivery of pages?  I can understand
> when the system may get busy during the day, and pages are stacked up
> in the queue, but even in the middle of the night, it can take upwards
> of a minute for a page to be delivered.  Sometimes, they come almost
> instantly, then just a moment later, take almost a minute.  There's no
> way that the queue was empty, then suddenly built up to a big backlog,
> all of a sudden in the middle of the night.  Why are pages not just
> sent out immediately?

Well, there are mainly two reasons for that. First you have to
understand, to save battery, pager addresses are assigned to one of
the seven fixed frames withing a POCSAG batch.  Therefore, if you want
data to be sent immediately, you will have to generate a new batch for
each page you sent, which will obviously waste a lot of airtime.
Therefore, like in most comm. protocol, the "encoder" will wait for a
certain amount of time, hoping that the next packets can fit in the
free slots and generate a completely filled batch. So, it back to that
"Speed against Size" problem again.

Secondly, most paging terminals have to manage zones. It has to pick,
resort and decide which packets should go to which queue, which in
fact could be done by any 486 machine with a good piece of software
... but ... if you have seen some of the most popular paging systems,
you'll realize that they are mostly hardware based and are not very
intelligent machines. The US paging companies are notorious about their
slow response time and transmission reliability.  Look at some other
countries and you'll be surprised how efficient and reliable a POCSAG
frequency could be.


Best Regards...

Samuelson S. Rehman
{Systems Programmer - RnD.NCA, Director of NIS Systems}
Newspager Corp. of America
voice:(415)873-4422 | fax:(415)873-4424 | email:[email protected],[email protected]

------------------------------

Subject: Re: NY World Trade Center - Some Telecom News
From: [email protected] (Joe George)
Date: Sun, 14 Mar 1993 17:51:08 EST
Organization: The Waffle Whiffer, Atlanta, GA


In comp.dcom.telecom, [email protected] writes:

> The key to the IBM PC's not working was their keyboards.  So, the
> problem is, as you said, shielding.  The capacitive mechanisms of the
> keyboard would not work in the environment at the radio station.
> Keyboards which use a different technology than IBM's would work.

This is common not just with IBM PC's but with many different kinds of
IBM terminals.  They all seem to use similar technology in the
keyboard s.  I had a problem with a customer last week where a rather
large space heater managed to grunge keyboard response on about 30 IBM
3196 (AS/400 type) terminals.


Joe

------------------------------

From: [email protected] (Dave Levenson)
Subject: Re: NY World Trade Center - Some Telecom News
Organization: Westmark, Inc.
Date: Sun, 14 Mar 1993 19:34:25 GMT


In article <[email protected]>, [email protected] (John
Higdon) writes:

> Believe me, if any hair was going to be standing on end at any of my
> transmitter sites, I would be the first to notice. And I can prove it:
> my mug shot was in the 3/7 of the {San Jose Mercury}. The picture was
> taken the week before.

> [Moderator's Note: Don't let John fool you. His picture in the papers,
> like that of Ann Slanders and her twin sister Scabby Van Buren was
> taken thirty years ago. :) I've heard rumors that he is bald-headed,
> his hair having fallen out after working around that radiation all
> these years. :)   PAT]

No, Pat, John's right.  I saw him in the flesh when I was out in San
Jose late in 1992, and he really has a full head of white hair (unless
it all fell out in the last three months!).

Oh yes, and it wasn't standing on end the night I had dinner with him
and a friend in Los Gatos.


Dave Levenson           Internet: [email protected]
Westmark, Inc.          UUCP: {uunet | rutgers | att}!westmark!dave
Stirling, NJ, USA       Voice: 908 647 0900  Fax: 908 647 6857


[Moderator's Note: Well then, maybe all that radiation caused him to
grow more hair.  :)    PAT]

------------------------------

From: [email protected] (Robert Berger)
Subject: Re: Cellular System A and B Info Wanted
Organization: School of Computer Science, Carnegie Mellon
Date: Mon, 15 Mar 1993 02:48:18 GMT


In article <[email protected]> TELECOM Moderator notes:

> the B carriers are owned by the local 'wireline' telephone company
> in the area.

In some rural areas the B carrier is also an independent company.

My  guess is the wireline companies don't consider such areas worth
pursuing themselves and allow an independent to take the area ...


[Moderator's Note: Well you have to remember a history lesson here.
AT&T often used to accuse MCI of 'skimming the cream', but seventy
years ago, the Mother Company was the biggest cream skimmer around.
The majority of *rural* America did not yet have phone service in the
1920's. The lack of telephones and other basic utility services in
rural areas was such a scandal that President Franklin D. Roosevelt
started the Rural Electrification Agency to provide federal loans to
build and maintain Telephone Cooperative Societies in the hinterlands.
The local farmers started the telephone co-op, strung the wires to the
nearest point of contact with (preferably, if possible, out of
principle) GTE or (as a last recourse if necessary) AT&T ... that's
how much people disliked 'The Bell' even back then. Then they would
hire the wife of one of them to run the switchboard, usually out of
her home, with the Farmer's Daughter watching after the board when mom
and dad went out, etc.

AT&T claimed it was much too expensive to provide service to those
areas; they were happy to let the government front the money even if
the farmers were a sassy independent bunch who would string the wire
another five miles if they had to to reach a central office they
'approved of' (i.e. a GTE operating company). AT&T knew the profits
from the long distance traffic -- their baliwick -- would get back to
them anyway. Then comes the 1950's and the farmers finally got their
REA mortgages paid off. For the first time in a quarter-century the
telephone cooperatives started making profits with no debt service

monkeys on their back. Bingo, all of a sudden AT&T decides to start
buying them up, 'in order to modernize the system'.

The equipment was getting old and cranky, the farmer's wives were
getting tired of working and with the daughters gone, good help was
hard to find. Rather than go in debt all over again to replace the old
switchboards, the farmers sold out to their long time nemesis, "The
Bell", as they called it for whatever song and dance AT&T was willing
to give them as payment. AT&T bought out dozens of those telephone
cooperative societies once the blood, sweat and tears were out of the
way, and overnight they just became part of the Bell System company
in the region where they were located. Finally the federal government
got sore and told AT&T they were not allowed to aquire any more opera-
ing companies for any reason at all unless the operating company was
in bad financial straits and in imminent danger of ceasing operations
in which case AT&T *had* to take it!  Watch rural cellular for a few
years and see how the industry giants come in to take over once the
little independents get the mortgage paid off.  Same difference.  PAT]

------------------------------

From: [email protected] (Dave Levenson)
Subject: Re: Facsimile CNG Tone
Organization: Westmark, Inc.
Date: Sun, 14 Mar 1993 05:44:45 GMTn


In article <[email protected]>, [email protected]
(Richard W. Desaulniers) writes:

[ regarding CNG tones from originating fax machines ]

> I don't think this feature (i.e. being able to send CNG tones) is
> mandatory, but should one expect all facsimile units manufactured
> today to have that feature? What about the older facsimile units, do
> they have this feature?  Are there a lot of these older units out
> there?

Even on brand new units, the transmission of the CNG tone is under the
control of the user.

Most facsimile machines include a telephone handset, and can be used
as an ordinary voice telephone.  A user may pick up the handset, seize
an outgoing line, dial a number, and converse.  During the call, the
user may place a document in the scanner, press a button usually
labeled <START>, and switch from voice to fax mode.

When the user is manually dialing, the machine has no way to know
whether the user intends to eventually enter fax mode, or to keep on
talking.  Therefore, most machines don't send CNG tones when they are
being dialed with the handset off-hook in manual calling mode.

If the user chooses to insert a document, enter a number, and then
press <START>, causing the machine to dial and attempt a fax
conversation in automatic mode, then CNG tones are sent after dialing.

Some users like automatic mode (most useful for unattended sending).
Others like to dial and hear the call-progress tones, and only switch
to fax mode when they hear the far end fax answer tone.

Most fax machine users don't even realize that they are deciding
whether or not to send CNG tones in this process.


Dave Levenson           Internet: [email protected]
Westmark, Inc.          UUCP: {uunet | rutgers | att}!westmark!dave
Stirling, NJ, USA       Voice: 908 647 0900  Fax: 908 647 6857

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 14 Mar 1993 00:26:08 -0500
From: [email protected] (Dave Leibold)
Subject: Re: Quebec Yellow Pages Controversy


Quebec language debates aside, the Toronto Bell Canada white pages has
English and French introductory sections. Nothing wrong with that,
except that there are about nine other languages that are more common
than French in Toronto, but less common than English (according to
some recent Statistics Canada numbers as charted in {The Toronto
Star}). Italian, Greek and Chinese are some of those prevalent Toronto
languages. One Toronto TV station (Channel 47) even specialises in
programmes in many languages.

Perhaps an idea should be borrowed from the white page introductory
sections of many other countries (Australia is one such country, I
believe): a brief description of the phone service (emergency numbers,
how to dial, etc) is translated into many languages.


[email protected]
and.....  Dave Leibold - via FidoNet node 1:250/98
INTERNET: [email protected]

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End of TELECOM Digest V13 #177
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