Issue link: http://osercommunicationsgroup.uberflip.com/i/562187
W i r e l e s s W o r l d F r i d a y, S e p t e m b e r 1 1 , 2 0 1 5 1 2 CELL PHONES FOR SOLDIERS AIDS RETURNING VETERANS Veterans often need a communication lifeline with family and friends even after returning from a deployment. Cell Phones For Soldiers continues to provide troops with free talk time even after they return home. The nonprofit relies on donations of funds and gently-used cell phones to fund its efforts to send prepaid phone cards to military members and provide emergency funds to assist veter- ans in need with communication services and more. "It's really important for domestic air time for these veterans. Right now they're being priced out of the market. These guys, a lot of them are making $30,000 or less," says Cell Phones For Soldiers Co-founder Rob Bergquist. "Being able to provide domestic air time is important. It's one way we can help these guys and ladies as they come home from serving their country." Cell Phones For Soldiers is an 11- year-old national nonprofit dedicated to serving troops and veterans with free communication services and emergency funding. The program provides a lifeline for military members while they're over- seas and family life is continuing at home and for veterans who have returned home but may still be isolated from the family and community services they need to help them through the transition. The organization was founded and is managed today by the Bergquist family of Bob, Gail, Brittany, Robbie and Courtney Bergquist. Since 2004, Cell Phones For Soldiers, which mails approximately 1,500 calling cards a week, has provided more than 216 mil- lion minutes of free talk time to service members and veterans. Cell Phones For Soldiers accepts donations of gently used cell phones and sends them to be refurbished for reuse or recycled, which gener- ates the funds to provide calling cards for service members and emergency funds for veterans. The calling cards reach serv- ice members in a variety of ways. They're often requested by chaplains or commanders who distribute them to the men and women with whom they serve. Family support organizations enclose them in care packages. Often a family member will request that the organization send them directly to a serving son or daughter. "We get a lot of first-hand accounts for how important these min- utes are to stay in touch. Our phone cards were a lifeline to stay in contact with their families. One soldier was able to call on Thanksgiving. Being able to hear those voices is so much better than just getting a letter," says Robbie Bergquist. "We had a story from a mother who called and said the last time she ever heard her son's voice was with one of our phone cards. It can be very important. You never know what's going to happen over there." There are a variety of ways for CTIA Super Mobility attendees to support the effort. Companies may donate gently used cell phones or funds at Cell Phones For Soldiers' booth #6728 or through cellphonesforsoldiers.com. Each $5 con- tribution, or donated device valued at $5, will provide troops with 2.5 hours of free talk time. For further information, visit booth #6728 during CTIA Super Mobility 2015. After the show, call Rob Berquist at 781.588.5096, Charlie Taylor at 612.695.0055 or visit www.cellphones forsoldiers.com. BEC TECHNOLOGIES INC MISSION CRITICAL MULTI-CARRIER M2M LTE ROUTER The BEC MX-1000 Advanced Industrial 4G/LTE Wireless Router is a high per- formance all-in-one fixed wireless com- munications platform with advanced software enabling high availability, reli- able and secure connectivity for mission critical applications. The MX-1000 is specifically designed to support a wide range of applications and vertical machine-to-machine (M2M) market seg- ments. The MX-1000 features a rugged compact design with integrated 4-port gigabit switch, 802.11n WiFi access point, multiple SSID and hotspot func- tionality, multi-function USB host inter- faces, embedded GPS with concurrent- multi-GNSS engine for GPS or GLONASS as well as a variety of con- figurable options such as: dual SIM dual module, power ignition control and cloud-based remote access/management. To support the growing demands of M2M services, the MXConnect offers enterprise level routing, advanced securi- ty functionality, Quality of Service (QoS), SPI firewall and auto failover for consistent connectivity and network redundancy. Key product features include: ubiq- uitous cellular connectivity with global LTE band support and fallback for 3G/2G; dual module dual sim for concur- rent / seamless multi-carrier connectivi- ty; multiple APN configuration for secu- rity and service management; carrier- grade 802.11n Wireless LAN with mSSID and hotpot functionality; enterprise class router with firewall, IPsec VPN, VLAN, QoS and IPv6 sup- port; hardened enclosure, industrial- grade components with extended temper- ature range; supported by BEC's cloud- based device management platform to extend network visibility and control of devices remotely; and applications include: logistics/transportation and fleet, public safety/FirstNet. About BEC Technologies Inc. BEC Technologies is a leading devel- oper and manufacturer of 3G, 4G/LTE wireless broadband networking solu- tions for mobile operators, residential, enterprise and industrial markets. BEC's comprehensive product portfo- lio of solutions incorporate fixed data routers, VoIP/VoLTE gateways, rugged outdoor, industri- al/M2M connectivi- ty, public safety, fleet/telematics and cloud based remote device management. Its solutions are designed for high availability, reliabili- ty and secure connectivity all backed up with class-leading technical service and support. Managing millions of connected devices worldwide, BEC is driving the global transformation to a connected world. For more information, visit www.bectechnologies.net or follow on Twitter @BECTechnologies. To learn more about the BEC MX- 1000 Advanced In-Vehicle 4G LTE Router, visit www.bectechnologies.net/ portfolio_item/mx1000/. For a live product demonstration of the BEC MXConnect Series, visit BEC at CTIA Super Mobility at booth #4455 or email sales@bectechnologies.net. HOW VOWIFI CAN CHANGE THE GAME FOR CABLE OPERATORS By Terry McCabe, Mobility CTO, Mitel As Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) are deploying high through- put 4G LTE data services, cable opera- tors have been rapidly expanding their Wi-Fi reach. They are recognizing the opportunity to leverage the ubiquity of Wi-Fi access to provide cost effective wireless service to better serve their customers. Voice over Wi-Fi provides cable operators the opportunity to bun- dle video and Internet service, with a low cost mobile service that works on Wi-Fi, or on any data bearer. Mitel Mobility (previously known as Mavenir) is partnering with cable operators to offer either an in-network or fully hosted end-to-end voice solu- tion to help the cable operator in get- ting to market quickly. There are many cable operators exploring and planning VoWiFi servic- es as a part of an MVNO strategy or as a standalone offering. Recent move- ment from Google with 'Project Fi" and the continued success of entities like Republic Wireless has only accel- erated the awareness that Voice over IP (using Wi-Fi or 4G access) is compara- ble if not better than traditional circuit switch voice quality. With the recent launch of T-Mobile's advanced mes- saging platform, it is now clear that there is no technological barrier to a data-only solution that provides quali- ty, ubiquitous communication at a sig- nificant price point. Mitel is at the forefront of working with Mobile Network Operators and MSO/Cable providers, deploying the bulk of the technology that allows for data-driven messaging, VoLTE and VoWiFi. The solutions that Mitel pro- vides to Tier 1 MNO's are now available to allow cable operators to deploy a full mobility solution with handover between Wi-Fi and LTE networks, enabling new MVNO and MNO models for the MSO operators. Mitel's VoWiFi solution is a com- plete end-to-end offering that includes session control, application/messaging servers, access/border gateways, sub- scriber management/activation sys- tems and clients. It can integrate with an existing IMS core network or can be deployed as a greenfield network to offer voice, video and messaging applications using Wi-Fi or any data bearer. The same VoWiFi equipment allows an MSO to deploy advanced calling and messaging features such as single identity calling from multiple devices, multiple identity calling on a single device and rich content driven messaging. Cable operators have a long and successful history in user experience excellence and an IP driv- en communication solution from Mitel would allow an MSO to further expose to their premium assets, channels and relationships. As part of Mitel's virtualized portfolio, the VoWiFi solution lever- ages NFV to host the IMS Core and application servers, allowing significant cost reductions when scaling. NFV also allows Mitel to deploy in either in the cloud or in an MSO's network on any hardware platform that they choose, thus keeping the OPEX costs lower should they prefer equipment on site. Mitel Mobility is the only provider to have over 30 virtualized software products that enable the complete deliv- ery of a cloud-based, end-to-end IMS network and is leveraging its pedigree in transforming mobile networks through software-based solutions and virtualiza- tion to rapidly create new and differenti- ated services for MSOs. For more information, stop by booth #6028 or go to www.mitel.com.