From my conversation with the receptionist on the other end of the phone, which was somewhat less than informative, the idea of Spread Spectrum technology is that the signal is spread out into individual packets on different wavelengths,

Excerpted from "Wired," August 1993 Playboy (Not THAT Wired) Reprinted without Permission Spread Spectrum technology was developed for the military to allow for high-security communications with crystal-clear reception. Now Cincinatti Microwave has introduced the Escort 9000 ($400), a cordless digital phone with Spread Spectrum that operates on the recently approved 900 MHz radio frequency (that's 20 times higher than the frequency conventional cordless phones use). This marriage of technologies gives the Escort 9000 a remarkable range of about a half maile, superior reception and complete privacy. "Previous attempts to bring Spread Spectrum to the consumer market have been too costly and too bulky for personal use," said Cincinatti Microwave president Jacques Robinson, who sells the phones directly to the public. (Call 800-433-3487 for more information or to order one.) Another company, Cobra, incorporates CM's Spread Spectrum technology into its latest 900 MHz model, and AT & T will introduce a 900 MHz Spread Spectrum phone in the fall. Tropez and Panasonic also offer 900 MHz phones (without Spread Spectrum). It is rumored that the range for some 900 MHz phones could be increased in the future to up to seven miles, which means that one could serve as an around-town alternative to a cellular phone. ---END EXCERPT Now, here's my problem with this nice-sounding product. I called the 800 number to ask for an explanation of this product, which immediately aroused my suspicion. then reconstituted at the other end, using some sort of session key generated at the beginning of each transaction. Considering the rather lax security of high-ranking government and military officials with phone technology, recent eavesdropping on Air Force One and the White House most glaringly, I find it difficult to accept as kosher any security scheme created by the government and then offered to private industry. More chillingly, the receptionist told me that no one would be able to perform surveillance on me "except the government." Alerted to this possibility, I immediately asked whether it had the Clipper Chip or the Capstone, or whether there was some sort of key escrow involved. This got me put on hold for a couple minutes. Then the receptionist returned, and told me that the person from the engineering department who took care of the phones had indicated that not even the government had the technology to monitor these phones. Upon asking how and why the government might do this, I received a rather chilly notification that the engineering department, was, of course, unwilling to reveal these secrets. Well, it was worth a try. I gave them my address so that they could send me further information. More reports forthcoming. You can contact Cincinatti Microwave by telephone at: (800) 433-3487 or by snailmail at: Cincinatti Microwave 1 Microwave Plaza Cincinatti, OH 45249 ---- -----BEGIN PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK----- Version: 2.3a mQCNAiyKoFQAAAEEAL22Al/Xil0UER1V7AlS4+eJmOQ6ruIojmq1XCSE7mCqLw3Q ILHBGlcCOl9S20N/8gdge2PfMS9BK794P2r/J3GUjwZw/emKuVm9SXDBpXfdgWax 7jdAGfohRthw/q1+x/z5nJ7gP2C7AZSlsa+XCYYRZbTR2fpaLXzs8jiGc9glAAUT tClSb2JlcnQgVy4gRi4gQ2xhcmsgPHJjbGFya0BueXguY3MuZHUuZWR1Pg== =vJ53 -----END PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK-----