difenbaker
12-15-2006, 07:33 PM
Cell phone coverage holes hurt public safety
By Marguerite Reardon
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
Published: December 15, 2006, 4:00 AM PST
While most U.S. cities are blanketed with advanced cell phone service at least four times over, huge patches of rural America still don't have cell phone coverage. What's more, the problem could get worse before it gets better when rules requiring carriers to offer older, analog service expire early in 2008.
The Federal Communications Commission in 2002 gave the mobile phone industry five years to transition their networks from analog technology to digital technology. Starting in February 2008, cell phone companies will no longer be required to offer analog service.
Cell phone operators have made tremendous strides in their network deployments, providing more than 90 percent of the more than 220 million cell phone subscribers in the U.S. with digital service, according to the CTIA, an industry trade group. But economic realities have meant that some remote areas of the country that have only analog service today may not have any service until carriers can fully upgrade their networks to digital technology.
Concerns about this issue have become increasingly acute because Americans are relying more than ever on their cell phones. According to a recent Consumer Reports survey, roughly 29 percent of people who bought a cell phone in the past year said they did so for emergencies. Unfortunately, lack of cell phone coverage in some of the remotest places in the country can make these devices about as useful as a paperweight.
more here:
http://news.com.com/Cell+phone+coverage+holes+hurt+public+safety/2100-1039_3-6143866.html?tag=cd.lede
:eek:
By Marguerite Reardon
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
Published: December 15, 2006, 4:00 AM PST
While most U.S. cities are blanketed with advanced cell phone service at least four times over, huge patches of rural America still don't have cell phone coverage. What's more, the problem could get worse before it gets better when rules requiring carriers to offer older, analog service expire early in 2008.
The Federal Communications Commission in 2002 gave the mobile phone industry five years to transition their networks from analog technology to digital technology. Starting in February 2008, cell phone companies will no longer be required to offer analog service.
Cell phone operators have made tremendous strides in their network deployments, providing more than 90 percent of the more than 220 million cell phone subscribers in the U.S. with digital service, according to the CTIA, an industry trade group. But economic realities have meant that some remote areas of the country that have only analog service today may not have any service until carriers can fully upgrade their networks to digital technology.
Concerns about this issue have become increasingly acute because Americans are relying more than ever on their cell phones. According to a recent Consumer Reports survey, roughly 29 percent of people who bought a cell phone in the past year said they did so for emergencies. Unfortunately, lack of cell phone coverage in some of the remotest places in the country can make these devices about as useful as a paperweight.
more here:
http://news.com.com/Cell+phone+coverage+holes+hurt+public+safety/2100-1039_3-6143866.html?tag=cd.lede
:eek: