The Houston Chronicle
recently printed an op-ed from Mobile Future Board Member Art
Contreras. The piece
reviews Mobile Future's latest white paper on mobile broadband
usage in the Hispanic community. Art is a Texas native and Houston local who served in the Houston Police
Department for 36 years and was U.S. Marshal for the Southern District of Texas
from 1998 to 2002.
"As a Hispanic-American, I am proud
our community is leading the way in wireless adoption, and I'm excited to see
how this adoption can be applied to bolster the community as a whole - from
entrepreneurial opportunities and health care to education and law
enforcement."
In addition sharing his thoughts on wireless usage in the Hispanic
community, Art also discusses how wireless technology can assist public safety
officials in keeping communities safe. You can read Art's op-ed here.
Thanks to mobile technology, personal safety on one college campus is taking a large step forward:
Next semester, college students in Oswego will be the first in the state university system to try out a new security tool that can connect them to university police with the touch of a button on their cell phones.
In November, the State University College at Oswego unveiled the first phase of Rave Guardian. Cynthia Adam, the chief of university police at Oswego State, said the response from students has been overwhelming. "Ninety-eight percent of our students and about the same number of faculty, carry cell phones, so, for us, it made much more sense to use that technology as a personal safety device."
The new system lets students input their photo, mobile phone number and other personal information on a secure website. That information is then immediately accessible to campus police when a student speeddials into the office.
Beginning next year, SUNY hopes to expand this system to include GPS data, which would help find the emergency location.
So, is your college or university doing something similar? Drop us an email (.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)) or send us a link. We're interested.
The plan to have a WiFi bubble over the City of Houston has been radically altered. Unfortunately, we have seen this play out in other cities that were encouraged to embark in these initiatives by companies who were either underfunded or lacked the capacity to deliver on contract terms. In this case, the $3.5 million settlement the city received from Earthlink is now being directed to provide wireless accessibility to specific "hot-spots". These include some non-profits, community centers, and schools. Password accessibility will be required. Essentially, the only way to access the system is to be enrolled in a program at the specific site. Commendably, the "hot-spots" are located in the lower socio-economic areas of the city. The new initiative provides for a "Wireless Empowerment Access Network", or WECAN. This will be deployed in 25 super-neighborhoods. There is no doubt that this initiative, even though limited, will have a dramatic impact on the lives of many of the residents in these neighborhoods.
Of course, the ideal would have been to have the initial plan come to fruition. There is no doubt, in this wireless information age, that access to the Internet is critical to fostering a growing economy.
The Junior Community College Student Personnel Association of Texas convened in Houston, Texas on October 16, 2008. I had the honor of being asked to participate on a panel discussion regarding campus security. The clear message I conveyed to the audience is that the demand for due diligence regarding campus security, especially after the Virginia Tech incident, does not leave any room for complacency. The critical mindset to guard against is "that won't happen on my campus." Sadly, it can happen on any campus. Since the tragic death of Jeanne Clery at Lehigh University in 1986, both state and federal legislators have passed statutes and regulations to address this critical issue.
The mandates emanating from every report regarding these tragedies clearly demands that administrators not only report crime but also implement security measures to minimize crime. Struggling with budgetary constraints, in most instances, adding security personnel is typically not possible. The alternative is to utilize technological support systems to augment security personnel. The first step in any security assessment is to conduct a thorough environmental design study and determine what landscaping and structural changes need to be made to minimize crime.
The wireless industry has numerous product applications to help with security demands. Most commonly used are automated notification systems, which enable administrators to send out an alert via email, SMS text message, and updates to university web sites. Also, safety experts agree that the texting alert system should be "just one part of comprehensive notification systems that can include sirens, loudspeakers, security cameras, website announcements and more," according to USA Today.
Regardless of the security any campus has, periodic tests of the system should be made to help identify any security factors that need upgrading or replacement. Additionally, it is of utmost importance for each campus security director, if not already in place, to have a close collaborative working relationship with their local police agencies
For more information, the report I found to be the most comprehensive in addressing campus security is the National Association of Attorneys General (http://naag.org/publications.php) - Task Force On School And Campus Safety (September 2007 Report and Recommendations).
The Austin Wireless Alliance recently hosted its annual Texas Wireless Summit and there is no doubt that AWA is fulfilling its mission to bring together the key leaders in wireless from Austin and Central Texas. Participants included representatives from the business, academic, community, and government sectors and the presence of aspiring entrepreneurs was readily evident.
From the perspective of someone who is dedicated to providing youth as many opportunities as possible for them to reach their full potential, AWA truly sets the benchmark for other cities. Their effort in providing an opportunity for University of Texas engineering students to exhibit their wireless application concepts and have them receive feedback from field practitioners is to be commended. It was indeed a pleasure to meet such bright young people. Since my youngest son received an engineering degree from UT, I had to contact him and let him know that his alma mater is doing very well, not only in football, but also in engineering.
Even though this was the first time I have attended AWA's wireless summit, it was evident to me that this concept can be a viable vehicle to generate business opportunities for all sectors of the wireless industry. In discussing AWA's mission with CEO Erin Defosse', I stressed how important it is that AWA is filling the technology niche of the local chamber of commerce. It takes the foresight of business leaders like these to recognize this business necessity. Through AWA, they have filled a critical niche in the technology sector and are helping to better position Austin and Central Texas to compete in today's global economy.
Well, I didn't think how much I would appreciate being connected to the outside world after our region was devastated by hurricane Ike. Having access to the internet has been a life saver. Not only can I keep up with safety alerts via the internet, I have been in ready contact with my extended family. Forget about "land lines". The cell sites withstood the 110 mile per hour winds. The devastation is awesome. One hundred year old oak and pine trees were uprooted and strewn about like kindling. Houston, our beautiful city looks like a war-zone. But even with the devastation we experienced, it is nothing of what happened along the coast. This area has literally been razed. Many once thriving communities are no more. With the start of the mountains of degree, the projections are that there will be a number of bodies recovered.
The one thing that really stands out is the basic human compassion of neighbors helping neighbors. With God's help and the perseverance of our citizens, this great city will recover. May God continue to bless our great country.
In an ideal world, public safety personnel would control all the variables in an emergency situation. But in reality, this just isn't possible. However, new mobile technology is drastically improving their efforts by transforming the way emergency responders communicate in times of crisis.
In 2005, when Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans , it became clear - to say the least - that our nation was ill-prepared to deal with such a disaster. Failed networks and communications problems only added to the many problems that plagued the region.
Now, three years after Katrina, another hurricane has plowed through the Gulf region, but this time, COWs (Cells on wheels) and COLTs (Cells on Light Trucks) beat Gustav to the region, ensuring that first responders would not have to deal with communication challenges caused by network failures and power outages.
The tremendous impact this mobile equipment has had cannot be overstated. Not only does it provide real time information to strategically move personnel to critical locations, but most importantly, it has also dramatically enhanced the safety of emergency personnel by keeping them abreast of any possible changing dynamics.
This equipment also is used for major public events including Super Bowl XXXVIII in my hometown of Houston , and most recently in Denver and Minneapolis as thousands of convention-goers flocked to the Democratic and Republican conventions.
Unfortunately, with the end of hurricane season still months away and two more storms headed our way, the COWs and COLTs will likely be in high demand this year.
Before the Internet, child safety measures largely applied to monitoring one's children as they ventured outside the safety of the home. Children could only meet strangers and threatening individuals once they moved into an uncontrolled environment. With the rise of the World Wide Web, came instant communication in chat rooms, web sites, streaming video, and email, now our children have access to the outside world with the click of a "mouse". The outside world is now inside the front door. And now, with the possibilities of wireless Internet service on children's cell phones, the threat has been expanded. As parents and grandparents, we want to provide every opportunity to our children to expand their knowledge of the fascinating world of cyberspace. However, we must also be diligent and raise their level of understanding to deal with and recognize a possible threat.
The Yankee Group research organization estimates that over half of the 20 million preteens (8-12) living in the United States will be carrying a cell phone by the end of 2008. And while wireless service provides myriad child safety protections-the ability to phone for help if a kid gets lost or physically threatened and ensured communication with a parent-it also bears potential threats.
Cyberspace can unfortunately sometimes place kids dangerously close to sex predators, criminals, or simply inappropriate content. LA Times reports, for example, on how kids visiting popular website and virtual worlds like Webkinz and Club Penguin are being harassed by cyber bullies-kids stealing each other's virtual goods, or discovering how to swear and curse at each other. But even if wireless service is responsible for the problem, it can also provide the solution in cyber security measures and education programs for young children.
New Zealand 's law enforcement organizations have given education high priority and adopted a national interagency approach to cyber safety education called NetSafe. Many New Zealand Police officers have worked with NetSafe since its inception in 2000; including members of the fraud squad, the E-Crime Lab, sexual abuse teams, and police youth education officers
NetSafe seeks to get children excited about cyber security with a separate, charitable subsidiary of the site called Hector's World, created in 2006. In its high-quality animated episodes, Hector Protector is a dolphin in the underwater realm of Silicon Deep. The site lends children a fictional and appealing context in which to learn cyber security guidelines; in the eight minute clips, the first set focuses on privacy and personal information online, while the rest of the storybooks tailor to specific age groups (5-6 or 7-8, for example) to reach out to the child viewer. Hector's World even has a free downloadable Hector Safety Button, a child-activated safety device which installs a swimming Hector in the corner of the computer screen; if the child is disturbed by something online, he or she can click a button so that Hector swims across the screen and covers it from view. The site's applications thereby stimulate proactive cyber safety in children who end up emulating the behavior of Hector Protector as he swims through his own watery community.
If children can be taught at an early age general guidance for online safety behavior, they can adopt healthy habits for when they later become engaged with more extensive online-browsing. The wireless Internet undoubtedly presents some risks for children playing with their cell phones, but it also offers valuable opportunities to combat those risks with early education.
As a former U.S. Marshal, I still have a keen interest in what is evolving within the law enforcement community. An excellent source of information is the FBI's public information website. Through periodic updates, the bureau alerts its subscribers about current criminal cases that may impact or be of interest to the public. Last week, I received an article regarding the recent break-up of an international crime ring that used tactics called "phishing" and "smishing." Since these criminal perpetrators can target anyone of us, I share the information with you.
Phishing is a scam where you receive an email that looks like it's from your bank or other trusted financial institutions asking for personal information (PIN numbers, social security numbers, credit card information and passwords, etc). If one responds, the information can then be used to defraud him or her of thousands of dollars, as well as identity theft.
By now, most people have learned about the dangers of "phishing." However, smishing is a new variation on the scam and operates via text message rather than email. Smishing involves SMS text messaging. Cellphone users will receive a text message with a URL address. A past example of smishing is a text message that indicated that the cellphone user had signed up for a dating service and would be charged $2 a day unless they visited a Web site to cancel the subscription. If the user follows the link, he or she will download malicious software programs.
The break-up of the crime ring included indictments of 38 people who had links to global organized ring, and was made possible through partnerships between the FBI, the U.S. Postal Service, the IRS, and local law enforcement agencies. Hopefully, the indictment of these criminals will serve as a deterrent to others looking to swindle people via email and text messages. Unfortunately, as technology advances so do the scamming techniques, but there are some steps that you can take to protect yourself.
Don't reply to unsolicited emails and text messages, even if they appear to be from a company that you do business with, since scammers sometimes impersonate legitimate companies.
Instead, you can visit the legitimate company's Web site directly or call them.
Also, remember that most legitimate companies will not ask you for sensitive information by email.
While law enforcement agencies are doing their best to track down and break-up these scams, the best defense is to be aware of these scams and to protect yourself and your personal information.
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