The MES consists of a personal communications device, such as a laptop computer connected to a cellular data modem. The MES may operate as a normal computer, used for downloading files or checking email, etc, or it may serve a specialized purpose, such as credit card verification. The MES both sends data to the network via the MDBS and receives data from the network via the MDBS at a rate of 19.2 Kbps. (Because of overhead, the actual data rate is approximately 9.6 Kbps.) Before transmitting the data, the MES packetizes it and also encrypts it for security. |