DALLAS-Air Communications Inc. is offering an automatic personal identification number security solution for its all-in-one AirCommunicator cellular telephone.
The Santa Clara, Calif.-based company introduced the phone last fall. It uses the company’s proprietary AirTrue transmission protocol to offer voice, fax and circuit-switched data service on the same device.
PINs are used by cellular carriers to fight cloning fraud. They are added to the number sequence dialed before a call is connected and augment the handset’s electronic serial number-mobile identification number pair.
Air Communications’ co-founder and Vice President of Marketing Art Gutch noted that fraudsters are quick to attack cellular networks that don’t incorporate PIN protection. Therefore, carriers are starting to demand PINs for all new devices that access their networks, not just for traditional cellular phones.
The company said it also is offering an automated *DATA dialing modifier application to the AirCommunicator that directs data calls through a carrier’s modem pool for improved data reliability.
Both the PIN and DATA software upgrades will be offered over-the-air to existing AirCommunicator users via the phone’s AutoPhone Upgrade feature, the company said.
