comp.std.wireless FAQ

From: std-mod@cssmp.corp.mot.com (Moderator - comp.std.wireless)
Newsgroups: comp.std.wireless
Followup-To: comp.std.wireless
Subject: FAQ for "comp.std.wireless"
Date: 31 Jul 1995 17:55:07 GMT
Organization: unknown
Message-ID: <3vj5dr$785@ftpbox.mot.com>

Here is a an updated copy of the FAQ for the newsgroup.  It contains
many pointers to sources of information on the wireless industry and
related technologies.

Best regards,

W. Stuart Jones
--
This is the Moderator account for the USENET newsgroup 'comp.std.wireless'.
For questions or comments please send email to :
        Wesley Stuart Jones : jonesw@mot.com
        John McKown : mckown@wes.mot.com

======================================================================
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) for the newsgroup 'comp.std.wireless'
======================================================================

     Additions and corrections to this FAQ are requested.

     Version: 4.0
     Last-modified: July  31, 1995
     Compiled by Wesley Stuart Jones
     Address comments to std-mod@wes.mot.com (Wesley Stuart Jones)

     Copyright (C) 1995 by Wesley Stuart Jones.  All rights reserved.
     Redistribution of this document/file in both electronic and
     printed form, is permitted only if this document/file is
     distributed in its entirety, including this copyright notice.  If
     you redistribute this file, please notify W. Stuart Jones so that
     distribution records can be kept.

Disclaimer:  Any opinions implied or stated in the following document
             are those solely of Wesley Stuart Jones and not his
             employer Motorola Inc.

                    Table of Contents
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

  I.  GENERAL INFORMATION
      1.  WHAT IS THE PURPOSE FOR THE NEWSGROUP?
      2.  WHO IS THE MODERATOR?
      3.  WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THIS FAQ?
      4.  WHAT ARE THE RULES FOR POSTING?
      5.  HOW DO I POST TO THE NEWSGROUP?
      6.  WHERE IS THE ARCHIVE FOR THE NEWSGROUP?
      7.  WHAT DOES THIS STAND FOR?  (LIST OF COMMON ABBREVIATIONS)

 II.  COMMITTEE INFORMATION
      1.  WHAT ARE THE CURRENT COMMITTEES DISCUSSING WIRELESS DATA
          STANDARDS AND HOW CAN I CONTACT THEM?

III.  CDPD INFORMATION
      1.  WHAT IS CDPD?
      2.  HOW DOES CDPD WORK?
      3.  WHAT IS THE DATA RATE FOR CDPD?

IV.   MORE INFORMATION
      1.  WHO ARE THE CURRENT SUPPLIERS OF WIRELESS DATA PRODUCTS AND
          HOW DO I CONTACT THEM?
      2.  WHAT CAN BE FOUND ON THE WEB (WWW)?
      3.  HOW CAN I GET ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT WIRELESS
          PRODUCTS/SERVICES/COMPANIES?
      4.  WHAT ARE GOOD MAGAZINE REFERENCES FOR WIRELESS DATA
          INFORMATION?

V.   ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
==========================
  I.  GENERAL INFORMATION
==========================

1.1  WHAT IS THE PURPOSE FOR THE NEWSGROUP?

     The primary goal of this newsgroup is to promote consistency and
     mutual awareness between existing committees (e.g., IEEE 802.11
     and ETSI RES-10) and any future committees. The newsgroup
     expedites their deliberations by providing a convenient forum for
     technical discussion between their scheduled meetings.
     Additionally, the open nature of the newsgroup helps the
     standardization process by allowing people not normally connected
     with the standards groups to provide their input.  The newsgroup
     has no official standing with any standards group or other
     organization.

     A secondary goal is to explore applications for wireless network
     technology.  The emerging standards must, after all, correctly
     anticipate these applications.

1.2  WHO IS THE MODERATOR?

     The moderator for the newsgroup is Wesley Stuart Jones.  Mr. Jones
     is an employee of Motorola, Inc. in the Wireless Data Group.  The
     moderator can be reached by sending electronic mail (email) to
     'std-mod@wes.mot.com'.  Motorola desires that the newsgroup be
     operated in a neutral, non-commercial manner which is fair to
     all.

1.3  WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THIS FAQ?

     This document, the FAQ for the newsgroup, was composed to provide
     general information about the newsgroup.  It would be impossible to
     attempt to answer all common questions regarding the field of
     wireless data communication.  Hopefully, the information
     contained in this document will direct the reader to adequate
     sources of information answering questions related to the field.
     Should some questions repeatedly appear in the newsgroup in the
     future they will be added to this document.

1.4  WHAT ARE THE RULES FOR POSTINGS?

     Generally, anything related to any of the standards committees or
     wireless technologies is welcome.  The moderator may reject
     postings he deems unprofessional or tasteless.

1.5  HOW DO I POST TO THE NEWSGROUP?

     Posting to the newsgroup is the same as any other USENET
     newsgroup.  All postings are forwarded to the moderator for
     approval. If the message does not show up in a day or so and no
     rejection notice is received, please try again or email a copy of
     the post to 'std-mod@wes.mot.com'.  Those who do not have access
     to posting facilities please email messages to
     'std-mod@wes.mot.com'.

1.6  WHERE IS THE ARCHIVE FOR THE NEWSGROUP?

     To the moderator's knowledge there exists no archive for the
     newsgroup.  Anyone who has the ability and is willing to archive
     the newsgroup please email the moderator.

1.7  WHAT DOES THIS STAND FOR?  (A LIST OF COMMON ABBREVIATIONS)

     Abbreviations:

     ARQ      Automatic Repeat Request
     bbs      bulletin board system
     bps      bits per second
     CCITT    International Telegraph and Telephone Consultative Committee
     CDPD     Cellular Digital Packet Data
     CSMA     Carrier Sense Multiple Access
     comm     communication(s)
     DSSS     Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum
     EU       European Union
     FHSS     Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum
     ISDN     Integrated Services Digital Network
     IR       InfraRed
     LOS      Line Of Sight
     MAC      Medium Access Control
     MDBS     Mobile Data Base Station
     mgmt     management
     mgr      manager
     NIC      Network Interface Card
     NTIA     National Telecommunications & Information Administration
     PDA      Personal Digital Assistant
     PHY      Physical layer
     QoS      Quality of Service
     rcv      receive
     RF       radio frequency
     SS       Spread Spectrum
     s/w      software
     WL       wireless


===========================
 II.  Committee Information
===========================

2.1  WHAT ARE THE CURRENT COMMITTEES DISCUSSING WIRELESS DATA
     STANDARDS AND HOW CAN I CONTACT THEM?

     IEEE P802.11
     Working to develop a MAC and PHY specification for wireless
     connectivity for fixed, portable, and moving stations within a
     local area with raw bit rates exceeding 1 Mbit/s.
     Chairman: Vic Hayes (vic.hayes@utrecht.ncr.com)
     See section 3.2 under 802.11 Documents to access documents via
     Internet ftp.

     ETSI RES-10
     The EU has allocated hundreds of MHz in the 5 to 17 GHz bands for
     Hiperlan, the wireless data system standard being written by ETSI
     RES-10.  Time-bounded service will be an integral (non-optional)
     part of the standard.  User data rates should be 20 Mbps or higher.
     Participation in RES-10 is limited to ETSI-members --- the main
     requirement is an European address.
     Chairman:  Bernard Bourin (bourin@dassault-at.fr)

     TIA Committee on Wireless User Premises Equipment (WUPE) (TR41.6)
     Subcommittee of TIA/EIA for User Premises Equipment.  Charter
     includes all wireless premises equipment.  Active projects on
     video, audio, and data wireless.
     Chairman:  Peter Leigh (bligh@software.mitel.com)

===========================
III.  CDPD Information
===========================

3.1  WHAT IS CDPD?

     CDPD stands for Cellular Digital Packet Data.  CDPD is a network
     that transmits digital packet data over your cellular telephone.

3.2  HOW DOES CDPD WORK?

     CDPD uses the idle time between cellular voice calls to transmit
     data.  A Mobile Data Base Station (MDBS) resides at each cell
     site.  The MDBS uses a scanning receiver to scan all the AMPS
     channels.  In doing so, the MDBS detects the presence of any voice
     traffic based on the signal strength.  Providing that there are
     two channels idle (for transmitting and receiving), the MDBS will
     establish an air link.

     "Channel hopping" occurs when an analog voice signal is preparing
     to use the link that MDBS has.  The MDBS then has 40 msec to
     disconnect the link and establish a link on a different idle
     channel.  It is due to this "channel hopping" that CDPD becomes
     transparent to the AMPS network.

3.3  WHAT IS THE DATA RATE OF CDPD?

     The raw data rate for CDPD is 19.2 kbps.  However, due to
     overhead for reliability reasons, the actual throughput is
     about 9.6 kpbs.

===========================
IV.  More Information
===========================

4.1  WHO ARE THE CURRENT SUPPLIERS OF WIRELESS DATA PRODUCTS AND HOW
     DO I CONTACT THEM?

     The best source for wireless suppliers is Anthony Stieber
     (anthony@alpha1.csd.uwm.edu).  Mr. Stieber keeps lists of wireless
     suppliers at the site 'csd4.csd.uwm.edu' in the
     /pub/Portables/Wireless directory for "anonymous" ftp.  The lists
     divided into CDPD, cellular, IR, LAN, paging, satellite, WAN, and
     miscellaneous categories.

4.2  WHAT CAN BE FOUND ON THE WEB (WWW)?

     The following sites can be located on the World Wide Web.

     Advanced Radio Research Centre (ARRC) - Motorola and Canadian
        Federal Government initiative to provide funding and support
        to Canadian software developers and universities for research
        in wireless data technology.
        http://www.arrc.ca/

     Air Communications - Air Communications, Inc. home page for
        mobile connectivity solutions.
        http://datahut.airtouch.net/newtech/aircomm.html

     Advanced Network Solutions - wireless modems/adapters/PCMCIA
        http://www.halcyon.com/routers/welcome.htm

     Computer Communications Entry Page - Pointers to URLs (other
        WWW sites) for communications companies and related topics.
        http://www-atp.llnl.gov/atp/telecom.html

     Datalink International - Information about Mobitex
        http://www.helix.net/datalink/

     Ex Machnia, Inc. - developers of wireless messaging software for
        many common OS platforms.
        http://exmachina.com/

     FCC's home page
        http://www.fcc.gov/

     GHZ Equipment Company - wireless cable FAQ and information on wide
        band wireless systems
        http://access.net99.net/~ghzequip/index.html

     It's a Wireless World - Site run by Tim Cocklin dedicated the
         wireless industry.  Pointers to many other URLs and companies.
        http://www.iadfw.net/tcocklin/index.htm

     McCaw Wireless Data - McCaw's WWW site
        http://www.cellular.com/   or   http://www.airdata.com/

     Metricom, Inc. - Metricom's WWW site
        http://www.metricom.com/

     Motorola Inc. - Motorola's WWW site
        http://www.mot.com/

     QUALCOMM - Qualcomm's WWW site
        http://lorien.qualcomm.com/QualHome.html

     T1 - American National Standards Institute WWW site
        http://www.t1.org

     Tetherless Access Ltd. (TAL) - Wireless TCP/IP and Internet provider
        http://www.tetherless.com/

     Telecom Information Resources on the Internet - links to other
        resources dealing with telecommunications
        http://www.ipps.lsa.umich.edu/telecom-info.html

     Wynd Communications Wireless Service - wireless service provider for
        paging, fax, and email via RAM Mobile Data.
        http://www.wynd.net/wynd

     WirelessConnect - company providing wireless IP products
        http://www.wci.com/web

     The Wireless Opportunities Coalition - General wireless data
        information.
        http://wireless.policy.net/wireless/wireless.html

     Xircom - Xircom's WWW site
        http://www.organic.com:80/Commercial/Xircom

4.3  HOW CAN I GET ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT WIRELESS PRODUCTS/
     SERVICES/COMPANIES?

     The following sites on the Internet have documents which can be
     "ftp-ed".  If the login is not stated use "anonymous" to get
     access to the site.

     Format:
     <Name of Source>- <Domain Name (IP Address)>
     <Owner or SysOp>
     <Directory>  login: <login> *only if login is not anonymous
     <Description>

     802.11 Documents- atg.apple.com (17.255.4.30)
     Kerry Lynn (kerlyn@apple.com)
     /pub/802.11
     README file and subdirectories RFMACSIM, drop, ibmpc, macintosh.
     Under 'ibmpc' are subdirectories 1991_docs, 1992_docs, 1993_docs,
     1994_docs, etc, issues, std.

     802.11 Documents- ftp.cs.utwente.nl (130.89.10.247)
     (mirror of Apple 802.11)
     Ronald Brockman (roana@cs.utwente.nl)
     /pub/802.11
     README file and subdirectories RFMACSIM, drop, ibmpc, macintosh.
     Under 'ibmpc' are subdirectories 1991_docs, 1992_docs, 1993_docs,
     1994_docs, etc, issues, std.

     FCC- ftp.fcc.gov (192.104.54.2)
     /pub
     FCC UPCS rules

     NTIA- ntiabbs.ntia.doc.gov (??)
     N/A - bbs format
     Government information concerning frequency use and allocation

     University of Aachen- ftp.dfv.rwth-aachen.de (137.226.4.111)
     /pub/doc/cellular  login: ftp
     Miscellaneous cellular and GSM Documentation

     UWM Info-Computing Services Division- csd4.csd.uwm.edu (129.89.7.4)
     Anthony Stieber (anthony@alpha1.csd.uwm.edu)
     /pub/Portables/Wireless
     Lists of contacts, specifications, and descriptions of wireless
     networking systems.

     TCP/IP mobility- parcftp.xerox.com ()
     /pub/mobile-ip
     archives from mobile-IP mailing list

     ???  cs.dal.ca ()
     /comp.archives/comp.dcom.telecom
     misc. archives and Qualcomm specs

     ???  ftp.comp.lancs.ac.uk (148.88.16.9)
     /pub/mpg
     mobile computing bibliography

     The following sources have documents available; some of the sources
     are commercial.
     -------------------------------------------------------------------

     CDPD Forum Headquarters
          401 North Michigan Avenue
          Chicago, IL  60611
          800-385-CDPD
          email:  info@forum.cdpd.net

     CDPD Industry Input Coordinator
          Pittaglio Rabin Todd & McGrath
          650 Town Center Dr., Suite 820
          Costa Mesa, CA 92626
          714-545-9400 X235

     CDPD specification
          McCaw Cellular
          Clarissa Jurgenson
          Kirkland, WA
          800-42-MCCAW  206-827-4500

     Cellular Digital Packet Data system specification
          CDPD Industry Input Coordinator
          650 Town Center Drive, Suite 820
          Costa Mesa, CA 92626

     CompuServe's Telecom Forum - Library reference and online
     discussion of telecom related topics including cellular
     technology, wireless data, etc.
          Operated by: Glenbrook Systems, Inc.
          PO Box 7130
          Menlo Park, CA 94026-7130
          SysOp: Scott Loftesness (76703.407@compuserve.com)

     National Telecommunications & Information Administration (NTIA) BBS
          202-482-1199 (bbs number)
          SysOp: Roger Clark
          202-482-1407 (voice)
          email: rclark@ntia.doc.gov

     Overnet BBS - News, information, FCC/NTIA reports, discussion
     areas, etc.
          P.O. Box 8551
          Calabasas, CA 91372-8551
          SysOp: Scott Goldman (Goldman@overnet.com) For information
          send request to info@overnet.com

     Portable Computer and Communications Association (PCCA)
        P.O. Box 924
        Brookdale, CA  95007
        408-338-0924

     If you know of other good sources of information please email them
     to the moderator.

4.4  WHAT ARE SOME GOOD MAGAZINE REFERENCES FOR WIRELESS DATA
     INFORMATION?


     Capitol Publications - Mobile Data Report
          1101 King Street #444
          Alexandria, VA 22314
          703-683-4100 301/986-9567 703/739-6490 fax

     Cellular Business Magazine
          333 W. Hampden Avenue #606
          Englewood, CO 80110
          303-793-0448

     Cellular Sales & Marketing Newsletter
          P.O. Box 1519
          Herndon, VA 22070
          703-787-4647

     Communications Magazine
          6300 South Syracuse Way
          Englewood, CO 80111
          303-220-0600 303-773-9716 fax

     Communications Week
          PO Box 1094
          Skokie, IL 60076
          708-647-6834  708-647-6838 fax
         303-762-0069 fax

     Data Communications Magazine
          McGraw-Hill Inc.
          1221 Avenue of the Americas
          New York, NY 10020

     EDN
          275 Washington Street
          Newton, MA 02158

     LAN Times
          1900 O'Farrell Street, Suite 200
          San Mateo, CA 94403
          415-513-6800  415-513-6819 fax

     Macweek Magazine - Mobile Computing
          301 Howard Street #1500
          San Francisco, CA 94105
          415-243-3500 415-243-3651

     Mobile Office Magazine
          21800 Oxnard Street - Suite 250
          Woodland Hills, CA 91367
          818-593-6100 818/593-6153 fax

     Mobile Radio Technology (free)
          9800 Metcalf
          Overland Park, KS 66212-2215
          913-967-1741 913/967-1905 fax

     Personal Electronics News
          761 Deep Valley Drive
          Rolling Hills, CA 90274
          310-377-7858 310-377-8218

     Phillips Business Information - Wireless Report
          1201 Seven Locks Road #300
          Potomac, MD 20854
          301-340-1520 301-424-4297

     Quantum Publishing - Various Books and Publications
          P.O. Box 310
          Mendocino, CA 95460
          707-937-4488 800-422-9666 707/937-4489 fax

     RCR Radio Communications Report
          800-678-9595

     Radio Resource (free)
          P.O. Box 15637
          North Hollywood, CA 91615-9811

     Wireless Design and Development
          Gordon Publications, Inc. (division of Cahners)
          P.O. Box 650
          Morris Plains, NJ 07950
          201-292-5100  201-898-9281 fax

     Wired Magazine
          544 Second Street
          San Francisco, CA 94107
          415-904-6457 415-904-0669 fax

     Wireless for the Corporate User (free)
          201-285-1500

     Wireless Messaging Report
          BRP Publications Inc.
          1333 H St. N.W., 2nd Floor-West
          Washington, DC  20005
          202-842-1875

     The Wireless Messenger
          1030 E. El Camino Real - Box 415
          Sunnyvale, CA 94087
          408-241-6735 415/854-6108 fax

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
===========================
  V.  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
===========================

     John McKown - For Invaluable feedback and contributions for this
         document and constant advice for the moderator of the newsgroup.

     Anthony Stieber - For contributing large amounts of information to this
         document.

     Lisa Bora - For compiling the CDPD information.
