System for message delivery to field personnel

1. A method for operating a server in a message delivery system, the method comprising:

determining a recipient identifier of a recipient and a predefined macro identifier from a macro message, wherein the macro identifier identifies a pre-formatted message;

determining a communication method for transmitting a decoded message to the recipient based on the macro identifier, the recipient identifier, and a time indicator;

obtaining contact information associated with the recipient based on the macro identifier, the recipient identifier, and the time indicator;

decoding the macro identifier to insert the pre-formatted message in the decoded message; and

transmitting the decoded message to the recipient using the contact information via the determined communication method.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising transmitting the macro message to the recipient using a default communication method.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the default communication method comprises sending the macro message as a text message over a satellite communication network.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of obtaining contact information comprises obtaining the contact information directly from the macro message.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of obtaining contact information comprising accessing a contact database.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of determining a recipient identifier comprises determining the macro identifier from the content of the macro message.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of determining a recipient identifier comprises determining the macro identifier from an attachment to the macro message.

8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

converting one of the macro message or the decoded message to a voice message; and

transmitting the voice message to the recipient via the determined communication method.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of transmitting the decoded message comprises transmitting the decoded message over one or more of a satellite network, a wireless terrestrial network, the Internet, or a paging network.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of transmitting the decoded message comprises transmitting the decoded message to a communication server.

11. Apparatus for providing a message delivery service, the apparatus comprising:

processing unit that operates to determine a recipient identifier of a recipient and a predefined macro identifier from a macro message, wherein the macro identifier identifies a pre-formatted message;

determining logic that operates to determine a communication method based on the macro identifier, the recipient identifier, and a time indicator;

decoding logic that operates to decode the macro identifier to insert the pre-formatted message in a decoded message; and

network link that operates to transmit the decoded message to the recipient using the communication method determined by the determining logic.

12. The apparatus of claim 11 further comprising:

a contact database that operates to provide contact information associated with the recipient based on the macro identifier and the recipient identifier;

wherein one or more of the network link or processing unit operate to use the contact information to transmit the decoded message via the communication method.

13. The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the network link operates to transmit the macro message to the recipient using a default communication method.

14. The apparatus of claim 13 , wherein the default communication method comprises sending the macro message as a text message over a satellite communication.

15. The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the processing unit operates to obtain the contact information associated with the recipient from an attachment to the macro message.

16. The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the processing unit operates to determine the macro identifier from the content of the macro message.

17. The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the processing unit operates to determine the macro identifier from an attachment to the macro message.

18. The apparatus of claim 11 , further comprising a text-to-voice converter that operates to convert one of the macro message or the decoded message to a voice message that is transmitted to the recipient over a network specified by the communication method.

19. The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the network link operates to transmit the decoded message over a satellite network, a wireless terrestrial network, the Internet, or a paging network.

20. The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the network link operates to transmit the decoded message to a communication server.

21. Apparatus for providing a message delivery service, the apparatus comprising:

means for determining a recipient identifier of a recipient and a predefined macro identifier from a macro message, wherein the macro identifier identifies a pre-formatted message;

means for determining a communication method for transmitting a decoded message to the recipient based on the macro identifier, the recipient identifier, and a time indicator;

means for obtaining contact information associated with the recipient based on the macro identifier, the recipient identifier, and the time indicator;

means for decoding the macro identifier to insert the pre-formatted message in the decoded message; and

means for transmitting the decoded message to the recipient using the contact information via the determined communication method.

22. The apparatus of claim 21 , further comprising means for transmitting the macro message to the recipient using a default communication method.

23. The apparatus of claim 22 , wherein the default communication method comprises sending the macro message as a text message over a satellite communication network.

24. The apparatus of claim 21 , wherein the means for obtaining contact information comprises means for obtaining the contact information directly from the macro message.

25. The apparatus of claim 21 , wherein the means for obtaining contact information comprises means for accessing a contact database.

26. The apparatus of claim 21 , wherein the means for determining a recipient identifier comprises means for determining the macro identifier from the content of the macro message.

27. The apparatus of claim 21 , wherein the means for determining a recipient identifier comprises means for determining the macro identifier from an attachment to the macro message.

28. The apparatus of claim 21 , further comprising:

means for converting one of the macro message or the decoded message to a voice message; and

means for transmitting the voice message to the recipient via the determined communication method.

29. The apparatus of claim 21 , wherein the means for transmitting the decoded message comprises means for transmitting the decoded message over one or more of a satellite network, a wireless terrestrial network, the Internet, or a paging network.

30. The apparatus of claim 21 , wherein the means for transmitting the decoded message comprises means for transmitting the decoded message to a communication server.

31. A non-transitory computer-readable medium tangibly embodying a program of machine-readable instructions executable by a digital processing apparatus to perform a method for providing a message delivery system, said method comprising operations of:

determining a recipient identifier of a recipient and a predefined macro identifier from a macro message, wherein the macro identifier identifies a pre-formatted message;

determining a communication method for transmitting a decoded message to the recipient based on the macro identifier, the recipient identifier, and a time indicator;

obtaining contact information associated with the recipient based on the macro identifier, the recipient identifier, and the time indicator;

decoding the macro identifier to insert the pre-formatted message in the decoded message; and

transmitting the decoded message to the recipient using the contact information via the determined communication method.

32. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 31 , further comprising transmitting the macro message to the recipient using a default communication method.

33. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 32 , wherein the default communication method comprises sending the macro message as a text message over a satellite communication network.

34. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 31 , wherein the operation of obtaining contact information comprises accessing a contact database.

35. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 31 , wherein determining a recipient identifier comprises determining the macro identifier from the content of the macro message.

36. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 31 , wherein determining a recipient identifier comprises determining the macro identifier from an attachment to the macro message.

37. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 31 , further comprising:

converting one of the macro message or the decoded message to a voice message; and

transmitting the voice message to the recipient via the determined communication method.

38. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 31 , wherein transmitting the decoded message comprises transmitting the decoded message over one or more of a satellite network, a wireless terrestrial network, the Internet, or a paging network.

39. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 31 , wherein transmitting the decoded message comprises transmitting the decoded message to a communication server.

40. An apparatus for transmitting a message sent to a vehicle via a vehicle communication system and also to a communication device of an operator of the vehicle, the apparatus comprising:

a network management center for

receiving the message,

determining if the message does not include a communication address associated with the operator for a communication method,

extracting a unique identifier from the message and retrieving the communication address based on the unique identifier only if the message is determined to not include the communication address, wherein the unique identifier uniquely identifies the vehicle in the vehicle communication system, and

converting the message into a format for transmission via the communication method; and

a network link for sending the converted message to the communication device of the operator via the communication method, wherein the communication device is associated with the communication address.

41. The apparatus of claim 40 , wherein the communication address comprises a telephone number, a pager number, or an email address.

42. The apparatus of claim 40 , wherein the network management center comprises a converter for converting the message into a customer selected text message.

43. The apparatus of claim 42 , wherein the customer selected text message comprises a condensed macro message or a pre-formatted message associated with a macro code in the message.

44. The apparatus of claim 40 , wherein the network management center comprises a converter for converting the message into a voice message.

45. The apparatus of claim 44 , wherein the voice message comprises a predefined voice message or a pre-formatted message associated with a macro code in the message.

46. The apparatus of claim 40 , wherein the network management center searches the message for the communication address associated with the operator for the communication method.

47. The apparatus of claim 46 , wherein the network management center searches for the communication address associated with the operator for the communication method based on the unique identifier.

48. The apparatus of claim 40 wherein the network management center comprises a manager and editor for managing and editing a configuration associated with the operator.