Paging operators using an Israeli technology can plug a spread-spectrum return path into their present systems to facilitate low-end, two-way paging at a fraction of the cost of full two-way infrastructure and without purchasing a narrowband license, according to American Messaging Services.
Dallas-based American Messaging Services has been licensed by Nexus Telecommunication Systems Ltd. of Israel to bring the Israeli spread-spectrum, frequency hopping technology to the U.S. paging market. Equipment should be available and some build-outs may be possible by mid-year 1996.
American Messaging Services is an equal joint venture between Nexus and Minneapolis-based American Paging Inc. American Messaging will market the technology, develop applications and create distribution channels.
“Being able to expand your paging service without spending a lot of money is desirable for operators,” said Robert Stevenson, American Messaging’s director of sales.
In the Nexus two-way system, current paging operators use existing transmitters for the outbound 900 MHz message. To create a return path, a Nexus receiver is placed next to each transmitter. The return system operates at 902-928 MHz, the unlicensed Industrial, Scientific and Medical band.
No personal communications services license is needed and the cost of infrastructure primarily is for receivers, American Messaging said. This means the Nexus two-way service will be less expensive than upcoming PCS two-way paging and that is a great selling point for today’s consumer market, Stevenson said.
“We think the use for this is limitless. We’re looking at customers in the age group of 18 to 40, who have used pagers in the past, maybe alphanumeric, and now they have the option to acknowledge. We see this as a migration system from one-way to two-way paging,” Stevenson said.
The TAG Pager (Two-way Acknowledgement Grouping) can hold up to 16 canned messages in memory such as “When will you be home?” or “Come pick me up.” The pager is expected to retail for less than $200.
Nexus service also is aimed at customers who don’t mind waiting a minute or so for a message to go through. The baud rate for the Nexus technology is slow-400 bits per second-and it can’t handle complex data messaging or advanced services, but tests have shown the system is reliable, Stevenson said. “We think there’s a market out there for this rich, economical service,” he added.
A final alpha test is being conducted in Minneapolis with plans to move to a beta test in October. Field tests in Chicago have tested the system’s ability to operate in a congested environment with successful results, Stevenson said.
Samsung Electronics Co. is licensed to manufacture the TAG pager, which initially will be distributed by American Messaging. American Messaging has rights to the Nexus technology for all of North America; Nexus is negotiating with Canadian companies for that market.
“Our drive right now is to pursue the mass market in two-way paging and build our backbone of paging companies,” Stevenson said. American Messaging’s four-year goal is to offer Nexus service in the nation’s top 100 markets. American Paging, which holds 50 percent of American Messaging, will be an important member of the American Messaging consortium. American Paging has more than 738,000 subscribers in Florida, the Midwest, the Mid-Atlantic and the Southwest.
American Paging is owned 82.5 percent by Telephone and Data Systems Inc. of Chicago, a diversified telecom company with holdings in telephone service (TDS Telecommunications Corp.) and cellular (United States Cellular Corp.)
