Topband: New Commercial Remote Service

[Cecil]

Maybe a new licensing incentive is in order to get the numbers up...

Pass your General and get your DXCC thrown in (first 100).
Pass your Extra and you go at the bottom of the Honor Roll.

Incentive still remains...work your way to Honor Roll as a General or upgrade and then work your way up the Honor Roll...

I mean DXCC and Honor Roll shouldn't be any harder than it is to get a license today huh?

Levity...

Cecil
K5DL

Sent using recycled electrons.

> On Jul 12, 2015, at 1:24 PM, Mike Waters <mikewate at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> You had me going for a few minutes!
> Are you going to send this again on April 1, 2016? ;-)
> 
> 73, Mike
> www.w0btu.com
> 
>> On Sun, Jul 12, 2015 at 1:13 PM, Larry Burke <wi5a at sbcglobal.net> wrote:
>> 
>> VERIZON WIRELESS TO OFFER REMOTE AMATEUR RADIO SERVICE
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> BASKING RIDGE, NJ (Roytours) - The nation's largest wireless company
>> announced today that it plans to enter the remote ham radio station
>> business
>> to serve amateur radio operators. Verizon Wireless, a wholly owned
>> subsidiary of Verizon Communications, Inc. [VZ, -4.25%] indicated that the
>> stations are a natural fit with their existing infrastructure and require
>> little additional investment. Customers will be able to talk all over the
>> world using only their cell phone. The service will be available via
>> subscription to existing Verizon customers. Coverage is expected to be the
>> same as Verizon's current 4G coverage area, with all calls routed to high
>> powered stations located on the east and west coasts of the United States.
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> "At first we really didn't understand why this service was needed" said
>> company spokesperson Ben Dover. "We had a misconception that ham radio
>> operators built their own stations and advanced technology. Then we learned
>> that there was a subculture in the hobby that tried to talk to as many
>> countries as possible using any means available and many were already using
>> a personal computer to talk to those countries. Some didn't even own a
>> radio. Often they were using a service that offers complete anonymity"
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> When asked how the new service is different from how Verizon customers
>> currently call other countries, Dover hesitated. "Well it IS another
>> revenue
>> stream", he replied.
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> Software developers have been quick to respond to the announcement. One
>> such
>> developer, who prefers to go by the name SchrockRock, is working on iPhone
>> applications called DXCodeReadR and ThisisHowIHonorRoll (THIHR for short).
>> SchrockRock explained that THIHR continuously monitors a notification
>> system
>> called the "cluster" and checks to see if the ham needs a country that has
>> been "spotted" there. If the ham needs it, THIHR automatically works in
>> concert with DXCodeReadR to generate what hams call a "QSO" to snag that
>> new
>> country, even while the ham sleeps. "It's all about convincing users that
>> they are advancing technology", SchrockRock added in a recent post to
>> reddit.
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> Markets also reacted quickly, sending Verizon stock down as much as 6% in
>> early trading. Reached on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, trader
>> Larry Burke summed up the market's reaction, "There was a going-in concern
>> about the ethics associated with this type of service as applied to what
>> hams call the DXCC program. But when brokers are able to explain that not
>> even the national association of amateur radio operators, the ARRL, is able
>> to define 'ethics', most concerns evaporate".
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> Currently, there are few players in the commercial remote business. The
>> largest, RemoteHamRadio.com or RHR for short, operates a network of
>> remotes,
>> many of which are located in New York state. Verizon spokesperson Dover
>> said
>> his company realized the potential "when the FCC chose to look the other
>> way
>> with enforcement of Part 97 and common carrier regulations as they applied
>> to this type of service".
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> Users of existing services seem to enjoy them. One California ham, who goes
>> by the callsign NJ6YOY, had this to say: "These remotes are fantastic. Just
>> yesterday I had a PL-259 fail on the coax going into the back of my radio.
>> The technician told me it would be three weeks before he could come out and
>> fix it. Three weeks! What was I supposed to do in the meantime? I thought
>> to
>> myself, 'now this is a case for remote stations'. I whipped out my
>> MasterCard and signed up for RHR. I didn't even need one of those K3/0
>> doohickeys. I just did my DXing with my computer. Things were going great
>> and then my internets stopped working. Fortunately for me there was another
>> RHR subscriber nearby. I used his internets to work four new ones in one
>> day. The guy I talked to in Ireland was really happy to work California on
>> six meters, too. He said he thought the band was only open to New York, but
>> when I confirmed our QSO on LoTW he was tickled shirtless to see he had
>> worked a new state". It is not clear to the uninitiated what all of this
>> means, but NJ6YOY sounded very excited about his new conquests. With
>> Verizon's new service he won't have to worry about his 'internets' going
>> down either. All he will have to do is keep his iPhone charged.
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> [yes, it's satire]
>> 
>> 
>> 
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