Nextel, the next great threat to the scanning hobby? PART ONE.

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1 Nextel, the next great threat to the scanning hobby? PART ONE. You see them everywhere. At first glance they are mere cell phones, but a few seconds into a direct-connect it becomesobvious that this is no ordinary phone. This handset is part of the NexTel network, a Motorola iden based trunked network that provides integrated voice, telephone, and data services across the country. These phone/radio hybrids are rapidly becoming the communications tool of choice for businesses and government agencies of all types, and this could spell the doom of your hobby. In this segment, we discuss the threat to the hobby the NexTel network could bring if capable scanners are not introduced. In the next article, we work to debunk the rumors and myths surrounding the NexTel communications systems. Are they really un-scannable? Are their communications networks really protected by existing law? And lastly, we will look at ways to convince the scanning community to band together to answer this threat to the hobby, and convince manufacturers to produce the necessary equipment to decode these transmissions. The threat The incursion of Nextel into my hobby began one morning when I realized that the Regency M-100 scanner that I keep dedicated to local traffic was very quiet as of late. Where there was usually not a large amount of traffic generated within the limits of my small rural town, the local utility company generated at least some traffic on an hourly basis. Where did they go? It wasn t until I went to pay my bill that my fears were confirmed. They had made the switch to Nextel, and thus their VHF frequency was now (for the most part) silent. But it didn t end there. Soon my local PD made the switch, and the local chitchat channel that they had occupied for several years fell silent. Then came the factory down the road. All of the traffic that used to be monitorable on the most basic of scanners was now totally out of reach. The culprit? The Nextel communications system. This wasn t a big city issue; I live in a predominately farming community. This was a small town issue. This was MY SMALL TOWN. This wasn t good. The reason behind the switch Companies expect different things in their communications systems. Some want only local coverage, and some expect broader, even statewide coverage. Some companies have resorted to cell phones for long distance communications, while still keeping radios for local or on-site communications. To these organizations, Nextel probably seems like a logical step. The company offers competitive cell phone rates and the flexibility of a local and long-range radio, utilizing a national iden based trunked radio network. Companies no longer are burdened with having to

2 maintain their own radio system, and Nextel s prices on direct connect (most plans offer unlimited direct connect time) make the choice to switch almost a no-brainer. Nextel also offers special plans and deals to local police and public safety agencies. These deals can make switching to Nextel for communications a difficult thing to turn down, especially since some police departments already are burdened with paying for cell phones for officers. Looking at things from a financial standpoint, it is no wonder that many companies have elected to make the switch to Nextel for their communications needs. In fact, a quick search of the web reveals several major federal contracts with Nextel, including the FBI and other federal law enforcement agencies. It doesn t take a great leap of imagination to surmise that the federal government are using Nextel radios for routine communications, thus eliminating another source of monitoring for scanner hobbyists. The result But where does that leave us? With more and more agencies and businesses switching to the Nextel iden network, scanner listeners are finding their monitoring options limited. Even entire agencies have switched their dispatching and individual unit traffic entirely to Nextel, and with each new adoption, another conventional frequency goes silent. In fact, for a business with a new need for communications system facing the thought of a multi million-dollar investment in radios, repeaters, batteries, and other equipment, the choice to move to Nextel is even more tempting. These things combined paint a bleak picture for the future of our chosen hobby, unless we act now. PART TWO Debunkingthe myths. Nextel is encrypted Wrong. Nextel is straight UNENCRYPTEDMotorola iden format, and can be easily monitored by several specific devices. There will NEVERbe a Nextel scanner Probably also wrong. There are already devices on the market capable of intercepting and monitoring Nextel devices. It would be illegal to make such a scanner Devices capable of receiving iden-based modulation are already on the market. Reverse engineering a specific protocol is permitted, as long as you follow the rules. Nextel s operate in the protected cell-phone band, and are thus protected. Both the Direct Connect and the Cell-phone networks utilize frequencies in the 800 MHz SMR band, not the cell-phone band, like many think. The listening to of Nextel communications is NOT against federal law.

3 Nextel Modulation. The Nextel system uses the Motorola iden digital modulation system. This system utilizes a system known as TDMA, or Time Division Multiple Access. As it s name implies, this is simply a method of more efficiently using the available airwaves to carry more than one signal. In a standard analog system, only one conversation or data signal can occupy a frequency at a given time. But by using TDMA, the carrier is divided into six separate timeslots, each one being 15 milliseconds in duration. Using a process known as VSLEP, or Vector Sum Excited Linear Predicting, the analog voice signal is transferred into a digital signal, and then undergoes compression. Since the Nextel System uses four sidebands in lieu of the full 25MHzsignal, the net result is that 90 milliseconds of voice can be compressed into 15 milliseconds of digital signal. Sound complicated? Well, this is also what APCO-25 digital systems attempt to do, using a similar process. The iden protocol and the VSLEP protocol are both proprietary, but both are not out of reach of reverse engineering into scanning receivers, if the demand is there. In fact, VSLEP is the riding force behind the older (non P-25) digital ASTROsystem, such as the trunked systems used by the cities of Cleveland and Memphis. Problems. It is important to remember that Nextels are not cell-phones. However, they do mirror cell-phones in one important way. Both systems utilize many smaller profile towers, instead of the few really high profile towers that we are used to in the scanning world. While this will likely not affect the Nextel user in the least, in order for a receiver to decode the digital signal, one would have to be close enough to monitor the tower that the Nextel radio was using. Additionally, since the Nextel Direct-Connect system is largely unit-to-unit direct contact, instead of broadcast like many other systems we monitor, it may be harder to follow traffic from specific companies or agencies, due to the sheer number of towers out there and the characteristics of the 800 Megahertz band that Nextel occupies. Additionally, data is also transmitted over the Nextel system. A scanner, if introduced, would have to be able to distinguish from the large volume of traffic that is more than likely present on the Nextel network, and deliver only the type of traffic requested, and likely further limit it to specific users. Hearing all of the users on a tower at once would likely be chaos of the worst type. A way would have to be developed to narrow this information down a bit, and present it to the end user in a way that made it discernable. What is already out there.

4 Earlier I mentioned that equipment and software already existed that would easily allow one to monitor iden systems in general, and specifically Nextel systems. These software and hardware packages, while marketed at the iden network technicians themselves, are available for use by the general public. They are very costly to purchase, but I have heard unconfirmed reports that leasing may be possible in specific instances. These systems usually utilize a laptop computer with proprietary software, coupled with one or more iden capable receivers allowing monitoring of network traffic and statistical information. One of these packages is made by Ericsson and is called TEMS. Another one made by Agilent Technologies is called iden FTA (field test application). While these systems are NOT scanners in the traditional sense, I am hoping that the existence and availability of these systems will help break the myth that Nextel is impossible to monitor, and spur people to action in demanding the production of a Nextel capable scanner. What s next. Like the Trunker program helped launch the trunktracking craze, hopefully the availability of these programs and systems will spurn those capable of creating a receiver or a software program into action. In fact, a laptop may end up being the best way to monitor a Nextel system. With a reaction tunable, computer controllable scanner, one might be able to follow the nextel traffic fairly well. Then all that would be left would be demodulating the digital signal. If a VSLEP scanner hits the market soon, as some predict, this would complete that requirement. PART THREE Scanner Manufacturers To the scanner manufacturers, the task of developing and marketing a scanner is a long and drawn out process. First you must understand that there is significant financial stake in each new scanner produced. Scanners must first be developed, features and capabilities carefully weighed, manufacturing costs and capabilities measured, etc. All of this takes a huge financial outlay. Not to mention the cost of securing type acceptance, the cost of marketing, the cost of shipping, etc. The company is betting large amounts of money on the future success of the scanner, and it is an investment that they take seriously. So what would convince a scanner manufacturer to take such a risk? What makes them willing to make such a gamble? A large part of it is customer research and demand. If a scanner with alpha tags and CTCSSis heavily requested by customers, then it stands to reason that a scanner manufacturer might feel that making a scanner with alpha tags and CTCSSdecoding would be a fairly good investment of the company s money. If the demand

5 was high enough, and the response strong enough, then the company would likely add more alphanumeric characters to the next generation of scanners, and perhaps CTCSSand DCS. And isn t that what has happened? Remember a few years ago when very few scanners had alpha tags? And then the first few appeared. Offering a simple 5-6 characters, they nonetheless became very popular, and received a very strong customer response. And now, it is difficult to find a newly released scanner that does NOT have alphanumeric tags in the memories. And they are also available in the banks and search ranges, to boot. Furthermore, you can forget about 5-6 characters. Today s scanners offer more than 10 in most cases. And CTCSS?What was once a rare option is now commonplace. And most new scanners have DCS, and advanced searching options to find those previously elusive tones. Today s scanner manufacturer is VERY much driven by customer response and demand. And this can work in our favor! The role of scanner enthusiasts As you can see, you play the most important role in insuring the development of new scanners. And you do this by letting the manufacturers know what you demand of the next generation of scanners, and voting with your wallet when such choices are available. At the end of this article, I am going to list some scanner manufacturers, and give contact information for them. This list will not be all-inclusive, however. It is important that you take a few minutes and write the scanner companies and tell them what you want in a scanner. Let them know that scanning NexTel systems is important to you, and let them know that this is a feature for which you would consider purchasing a scanner. Debunk some of the popular myths and misconceptions (see last month). Cite specific examples of where agencies you used to scan went to NexTel, and are thus not able to be monitored. This adds realism to the request, and lets them know that the need is genuine. Don t forget to KEEP UP THE PRESSURE!Follow up with the companies and let them know that this is still important to you, and renew your support to them developing this technology. One letter from one person will not make a difference at all. Several letters from a whole legion of scanner enthusiasts can make all the difference in the world. The future of scanning may be in jeopardy. And we are the only ones that may be able to save it. Are YOU up for the challenge? Contacts and addresses Uniden America Corporation 4700 Amon Carter

6 Fort Worth, TX AOR U.S.A., INC S. Western Ave., Suite 112 Torrance, CA harbor Blvd. Belmont, CA Icom America Inc th Ave NE Bellevue, WA Alinco, Incorporated Shin Dai Bldg 8F Dojimahama, Kita-ku Osaka Japan GRE America, Inc The conclusion I really hope that you have enjoyed this series on scanning and NexTel. I have gotten some really great feedback, not all of which I have been able to answer yet, due to a recent hospital stay. But your letters and complements have been very helpful in speeding along my recovery. At the request of a loyal reader from Oakland County, Michigan, I will be researching M/A Com trunking systems, and hope to have an article on these systems ready in a month or two. I have also received several other requests of a more anonymousnature asking for articles on other types of systems, and I will be doing research on those in the months ahead. Keep the feedback and letters coming, and keep scanning. And don t forget to write your favorite scanner manufacturer (or manufacturers) today! Until next month, happy scanning, and stay safe!