Archive for March, 2007
March 31, 2007
Cellular phones and pagers are part of the “now” generation, instant contact, anywhere at any time. People are looking for convenience, comfort and security. The question is how instantaneous and reliable is the contact?
Talking with someone is the main use for a cell phone, yet due to poor reception how often do calls not go through, or important calls “dropped” due to flaky coverage? Let us not forget, that in a time of tragedy, lines were congested and the resounding “all circuits busy” messages were heard from coast to coast. There is certainly room for improvement if you want to reach out and touch someone.
The alternative to voice communication is traditional text messaging, enjoyed by the young as SMS, a ‘hip’ communication method, and the older as the tried and true paging, a trustworthy means of communication. A carrier receives pages or text messages via a traditional dial up modem or Internet connection to their terminal, and then broadcasts the messages over their network to the appropriate wireless device. How instant is sending a text message? The answer might surprise you…it depends.
Traditional means of sending text messages is surprisingly reliable and fast. However, many cellular carriers, wishing to merge technologies while keeping costs down, have opted to utilize email technology to send text messages. Why not, an email is nothing more than a text message, using the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP). On the surface this sounds like a great idea, nearly everyone has email access, and the use of the Internet streamlines the sending of messages.
What is often overlooked, is the fact that email was not designed to be time sensitive. There can be significant delays and an instantaneous receipt can be lost when sending email to a pager or cell phone. Text messages sent via the email protocol SMTP could take a more scenic delivery route. While in many cases, receiving messages in a timely fashion is not critical; some industries require and benefit from the receipt of urgent messages. It is therefore important to realize and make a distinction between the protocols that are designed for instantaneous communication and those that are not.
If sending messages immediately to a cell phone or pager is required, more reliable protocols are available. When sending text messages, via a modem, the Telocator Alphanumeric Protocol (TAP) is extremely dependable, albeit slower due to the modem dialing. If sending messages with a high-speed Internet connection use the newer time sensitive Internet protocols: Simple Network Paging Protocol (SNPP) and Wireless Communication Transfer Protocol (WCTP). If your carrier supports these protocols they are the better options for sending important messages.
If carriers understand the “now” generation is about speed and reliability, customer satisfaction will improve. Text messaging is a reliable and useful communication method, especially since voice is not always convenient or possible. With public awareness and urging, carriers will increase their offerings of text messaging protocols. Carriers should offer email or SMTP, but they must also support time sensitive protocols, regardless, of whether the protocols are older such as TAP or newer such as WCTP.
Resources -
Carriers supporting SNPP - http://www.notepage.net/snpp.htm
Carriers supporting WCTP - http://www.notepage.net/wctp.htm
About The Author
Sharon Housley manages marketing for NotePage, Inc. http://www.notepage.net a company specializing in alphanumeric paging, SMS and wireless messaging software solutions. Other sites by Sharon can be found at http://www.softwaremarketingresource.com , and http://www.small-business-software.net
March 26, 2007
Prepaid wireless service and phone cards are a convenient, reliable way to make prepaid local, long distance and international calls. In the old days it was very expensive and almost prohibitive to make a call overseas, especially to countries like Germany, France, Russia or Taiwan; never mind just to the next state.
Today however, rates have dropped dramatically. Simply buy minutes in advance and use your prepaid wireless service and phone cares whenever you want to make a call.
Use it for business or pleasure.
Prepaid Wireless Service and phone cards are a very convenient and cost effective.
If you’re away from home and need to make a call you simply run down the minutes on your card.
Looking for the right gift? Sending kids off to school? Need to call in an emergency? Prepaid wireless service can be the solution.
In choosing the best prepaid wireless service it’s best to analyze your calling pattern and whether you primarily call long distance within the U.S. or overseas. Knowing your calling habits will allow you to save even more money.
About The Author
Mike Yeager, Publisher
http://www.a1-longdistance-4u.com/
mjy610@hotmail.com
March 21, 2007
Cell phones have come a long way since the early days of the 1980s when they were the size of a brick and weighed almost as much. Today, cellular phones come with built-in cameras, polyphonic ringtones, and high-tech games. New “3G” mobile phones are also capable of downloading full motion video and full spectrum music. Whereas there were only a few manufacturers of cell phones in the 1980s, today there are many. In addition to original manufacturers such as Motorola and Siemens, today phones are manufactured by Sony-Ericsson, LG, Toshiba, Samsung, Hitachi, Danger, Palm, HP and others.
As wireless cell phone use increases around the globe, the old CDMA and TDMA standards are being replaced with GSM, the global standard outside of North America. Relatively new mobile phone companies such as Vodafone and T-Mobile in Germany and NTT DoCoMo in Japan have taken advantage of increased cell phone use by expanding their mobile phone offerings and plans world-wide. Also, traditional computer companies are moving or have moved into the cell phone industry-PalmOne manufactures the Treo 650, HP is coming out with its own smartphone PDA and Microsoft powers the operating systems of many of the newest cell phones on the market.
In addition to being used as a method of wireless voice communication, cell phones have within the last decade morphed into mobile computing platforms. These new cell phones are powerful enough to power many applications that only a few years ago required one to be stationed at a desktop computer.
Concurrent with technological innovation and increased adoption worldwide, prices for both hardware and service plans have dropped steadily over the last decade. Whereas only a few years ago most cell phone service providers required 3 year contracts with heavy penalties for early cancellation, now one can get a free state-of-the-art phone with only a one year contract.
Beyond the cell phone hardware, whole new industries have sprung up catering to the needs of cell phone users who demand accessories such as cell phone covers, screen-savers, and ring tones. As well, SMS (simple messenging system) and MMS (multimedia messenging system) lingo is slowly entering the cell phone society vernacular. Use of shorthand abbreviations such as LOL (laughing out loud), SWAK (sealed with a kiss) and G2G (got to go) has become second nature to teenagers who are the main users of phone messenging globally.
(c) 2005 Philip Liu - All Rights Reserved Worldwide
Philip Liu is a freelance author and publisher currently based in New York City. Philip publishes regularly on his websites, Cell Phone News + Reviews (focusing on cell phone news, rumors and reviews from around the world), and DTVScoop - Plasma, LCD Reviews + News (focusing on digital television news and reviews).
March 16, 2007
There have been significant improvements made recently in cellular phone security. But be careful. Read on for valuable information to protect yourself.
Just remember that wireless phone conversations are transmitted over radio frequencies and these transmissions are not secure. However, analog cell phones are not as secure as digital or personal communications service phones. Low cost, easy to get, radio scanners are used to eavesdrop on phone conversations using analog wireless phones. With digital wireless phones, the conversations are encoded and are much more difficult to be listened in on. However, it is much more difficult to eavesdrop on conversations using personal communications service phones as your conversation is transmitted over multiple frequencies that may be scrambled. These conversations are impossible for interception.
Cloning is a term used to describe illegally charged calls to someone else’s account. The cost to cell phone service providers is astronomical. Digital wireless phones are difficult to clone compared to analog cell phones.
If your wireless phone is stolen, contact your cell phone service provider right way to have your service suspended. Each cell phone provider has its only policy concerning exactly how much you will be billed for local and long distance calls, so it is imperative that you notify your cell phone service provider immediately.
Cell phone insurance is available in cases of theft or loss of your mobile phone. Your cell phone service provider will be able to tell you about cell phone insurance.
Catherine Kenyeres is a free lance writer and publisher for Best-4u-Cell-Phones.com. Catherine provides the latest information, reviews and comparisons for her cell phone clients.
March 11, 2007
Smart phones are a combination of a cell phone and PDA functions all in one device and are much bigger and notably more expensive than regular handsets, generally costing in the neighborhood of $600. However, one won’t need to carry around two separate units.
Most individuals who would need a smart phone are people who are out of the office for long periods of time that require connectivity to e-mail and appointments. While the regular individual can get by with a basic cell phone or if you already have a separate PDA device and don’t wish to incur the additional expense of combining the two features into a smart phone.
If you are thinking about purchasing a smart phone, you will need to consider finding a cell phone plan that can provide the additional data for e-mail and for Internet browsing. For example, some cellular phone providers charge a flat fee for the megabyte usage while other cellular phone providers furnish a monthly allowance for megabyte usage. Finally, if your smart phone comes with Wi-Fi access, see if you cellular phone provider offers Wi-Fi plans.
Now you have the scoop. So what it really boils down to is the PDA functions. If you need to be connected to the internet and need email capability, it’s worth checking out. But for most of us, a regular cellular phone should meet our needs quite nicely.
Catherine Kenyeres is a free lance writer and publisher for Best-4u-Cell-Phones.com. Catherine provides the latest information, reviews and comparisons for her cell phone clients.
March 6, 2007
The best money saving practice for buying new cellular phones and service plans is to buy from a dealer, not through the cellular provider directly. Dealers compete against each other with lower prices than the actual cellular providers do.
The reason for this is that dealers are much smaller and rely solely on cell phone revenues. The actual cellular providers themselves have many other fronts, battles, and sources of revenue, so price satisfaction in any one sector is not always available.
For Example: AT&T or Verizon has cellular, but also have local phone service, long distance, satellite, and so forth. A dealer only sells cellular; that’s it. Dealers usually will offer just about every existing cellular provider’s services so the convenience of one stop shopping is an additional feature.
Online dealers are the most convenient source for shopping and comparing plans. You can shop low dealer priced plans from online and save even more.
A great and smart idea, before you buy into any cellular service plan, is to have a friend or family member let you borrow their phone(s) for a day at the least. By doing this you can travel to all of your frequent hotspots to make sure you will receive decent signaling with that cellular provider on a regular basis. Just taking someone’s word for it is not good enough, especially if they are trying to sell you the service. Try a test drive; it’s your smartest bet. Remember, purchasing the best plan will be worthless if you can never use your phone. Coverage is the first factor to any cellular plan ? period.
If you have friends with a diverse set of cellular providers, try each one out to determine which one is most reliable for your daily activities. Take your friends feedback as well; they will be very helpful on subjects of billing, quality of service, and other important consumer information.
This article was written by Aaron Siegel of TopSavings.Net which offers residential, business, and governments voice and Internet communications. Cell Phones
Services available at the site include VoIP, Internet Access, Long Distance, Local Phone Services, Toll-Free Services, Intranet Access, Cellular Services, and more.
March 1, 2007
A recent survey of the FCC’s antenna structure registration database showed that in 2001 there were roughly 89,000 antenna sites registered with the FCC. Today, there are over 109,000 registered sites. It is important to note that most towers under 200′ are not required to be registered, so there are significantly more towers in the US than this number suggests.
All of these sites are on someone’s property, whether the tower company or antenna site owner owns the land underneath it or is leasing it. Over the past 5 years, the tower companies and wireless carriers have predominately chosen to lease land rather than buy it. Assuming that the increase in antenna structure registrations constitutes just 50% or all new leases, in the last five years, that yields 40,000 new cell site leases.
From my experience in the industry procuring land and structure sites for cell towers and antenna sites, the vast majority of the landowners who are approached to lease land or space on their building have very little experience with this type of lease agreement. The landowners often inquire with their associates and colleagues to find out how they should negotiate. However that assumes that the landowner’s colleague negotiated a good agreement in the first place, which is often questionable.
So where is a landowner faced with negotiating a lease agreement to turn? First, start by asking the pertinent questions from the agent interested in leasing space for a cell tower.
What is the going rate for a cell tower in this area? What is your average lease payment? What was the amount of the last lease agreement you signed? Can you show it to me? Why are you looking at my property? Is there anything special about it?
While you may not get straightforward answers, you will at least get a sense of how this agent operates. From there, be prepared to do some research. Ask friends and business associates if they know of anyone with a tower on their property. Search the web for cell tower lease rates and for cell tower leases. Be aware that every piece of property is different and that each has its own value to a wireless carrier that may not be reflected by its total value. Call your local zoning or planning office to discuss what the requirements are for a tower and whether or not your site meets them.
Lastly, retain the services of an attorney, consultant, or both. You are preparing to sign a 25 year agreement that will tie your land up, make sure that you understand it well. The cost of a qualified attorney or consultant is minimal compared to the money recieved over the term of the lease. If you are using an attorney, ask specifically how many wireless leases they have negotiated. If the answer is less than 5, look for someone else. A wireless lease is not like a standard commerical lease even though some of the clauses will be the same. Your attorney really needs to know the difference or he/she could end up costing you the lease.
A cell tower lease can be a very lucrative proposition for you. We in the industry like to call it mailbox money- you sit back and receive a nice monthly check for doing nothing other than allowing your land to be leased, often for significantly more than any other type of use on the property. While the reward can be great, make sure that you minimize the risk by asking the questions and getting the outside help you need.
Ken Schmidt is the owner of Steel in the Air, a cell tower consulting firm. Steel in the Air provides expert consultations on cell tower valuation, cell tower lease negotiations, lease renegotiations and lease buyouts. Ken has been quoted on cell towers in the NY Times and numerous other publications.