Could Cell Phones Replace Regular Phones? 81
Although something like this could happen, I think there are several reasons why we aren't-quite-ready-for-it-yet. Cellular coverage is spotty at best across the U.S. and I'm not quite sure how widespread coverage is in Europe (but the information would be appreciated). I mean, I have a new cell phone (a Nokia 6185) and there were times I couldn't make a call from the center of downtown Manhattan which mystified the hell out of me at the time (turns out my phone was somehow kicked out of the system).
Of course, when it comes to signal quality, I think that there are some cellular phones that sound better than your average land-line, but the place where your land-line will win hands down over any of the new wireless upstarts is reliability. On a landline phone, you pick the receiver up off the cradle and you get a dialtone (assuming you've paid the bill, of course). I'm sure many of you will agree that cellular isn't quite at that level yet, although it's getting there. I figure everything will change within a year or two that will make even today's best predictions meaningless.
So how long do you think it will take (if ever) before everyone has a cell phone and land lines become a thing of the past?
Brain Cells (Score:1)
Elswhere on the globe... (Score:4)
On the other hand in industrialized countries the reasons for switching entirely to mobile phones are different but mostly also cost related. Countries where the mobile coverage reaches an acceptable range, and I personally can only talk about Finland where ist is darn close to 100%, there is really no drawback to having a cell phone regardless of where you live (plus the obvious advantages of the cell phones mobility).
Here in Finland the amount of housholds with only a cell phone and no hard line is rising steadily as well as in other European countries. The main reason being cheap phone calls. Whith the infrastructure of the mobile network in place, operators can start lowering the call prices as the investments that were needed to build the network are being paid back and the interest on them get less and less. The price difference in the monthly fee of a hard line and a mobile is enough to let you talk for about one hour on your mobile, admittedly not much, but with additional plans for eg. interoperator calls that can go up to three hours and then your only at the amount you'd have to pay for having the hard line to your home. I reacon the States still have some way to go before a significant price drop in the call charges happens since your operators are still building the network and that takes a lot of money.
One other big question which comes up in deciding whether to get rid of the hard line is the computer. Connecting to the net over a cell phone is... well it sucks. Here again students have the advantage since universities offer unlimited net access in some cases even in the campus living quarters. Other non-phoneline related solutions like cable modems are slowly making progress and in turn accelerate the rate at which people give up their hard lines (with a cable modem and a mobile phone you really don't need a hard line anymore).
mobiles in Europe (Score:2)
The prices are alright ( go here for details Dutch GSM pricing summary [bellen.com]. It's a summary of all mobile plans offered in the Netherlands. It's in Dutch but you'll figure it out. 1f is about $.40 )
I think the reason is HOW they price. With all phones, land and cell, owners only pay for out-going calls. So, if you have a cell phone you can leave it on all the time and not worry about someone calling you and talking your ear off.
Mobiles here have their own area codes that way people calling you know that it's going to be more expensive
Currently, the only minus I see with only having a cell phone is that calling international is pretty expensive where-as it's pretty cheap with land-phones. Oh, and cell modem speeds are pretty slow.
As far as coverage, it's great and it doesn't seem to be affected going into Germany and Belgium.
(On a side note, I have yet to see ONE pager here.)
I only use a cell (Score:1)
for internet i have a leased analougue line that works out cheaper than dialup.
its a win win situation.
bandwidth is hellish expensive 15000R per 64kb/s
so high speed lines are out the question.
Price comparison thread... (Score:2)
Monthly: $2.92 - $4.62 (no data conection) $4.62 - $18 (data connection) Calls: $0.09 - $0.15 (to same operator) $0.09 - $0.37 (to hard line) $0.15 - $0.37 (to other operator)
These are the prices for the oprator that I use, Radiolinja, the prices of other operators are pretty much the same since there is fierce competition over customers here in Finland where the law prohibits long term binding contracts to operators and thus switching between them is easy.
The price ranges indicated give the prices depending on time of day and type of contract. not listed are special contracts like "family line" where the call costs between three individual phones and a hard line can be as low as $0.04 per minute.
For reference, a hard line costs about $10 a month with calls at $0.07 per ten minutes. So lets hear what ather countries have to offer.
already happening (Score:2)
Atleast over here in Finland, the mobile markets are very competitive which brings down the prices. Regular telephone calls are cheaper, but the fixed monthly fee is considerably higher.
Re:mobiles in Europe (Score:1)
Europe does have the advantage over the US with the widespread adoption of GSM (currently limited to major cities in the US) - even in Eastern Europe coverage is impressive (check out this [sksl.com] for details).
For real Internet access we will have to wait for 3G and given the astronomical licence fees paid [theregister.co.uk] so far, pricing is likely to be more of an issue.
Re:already happening (Score:1)
With the growth of high speed access they expected the trend to grow even faster.
-----------------------------
What about inet acces? (Score:2)
If you use DSL or some other Telco inet access, they might toss in the same idea that you need some basic phone service.
No Fixed Line in the Office (Score:1)
I'm curious how this will work given the lack of consistency with in building coverage and other interference that mobiles can suffer.
In some areas when installing a 'fixed phone' we actually install a phone that uses the mobile network. IIRC there is at least one island whose entire phone network is provided using mobile technology.
Re:No Fixed Line in the Office (Score:1)
With GSM systems (and probably others too), your cells can tailored to fit your needs. For example, you can have cells serving each floor and a vertical cell serving the elevator shaft. These kind of systems are typical in large shopping centers and offices. In addition to given good coverage, they also cut down on network signalling traffic due to less cell changes (the elevator, subway or a highway are good examples of tailored cells).
Disclaimer: I am not a mobile network professional. Be prepared to accept errors in what I say.
Re:Price comparison thread... (Score:1)
In the US, a home line runs about $18 per month. But then, you don't have to pay for any local calls whatsoever.
Pagers gone the way of the dodo (Score:2)
The practical upshot is that nobody cares about pages anymore.
-John
Re:Pagers gone the way of the dodo (Score:1)
Re:Elswhere on the globe... (Score:1)
A sidenote: getting a landline in Denmark costs significant amount of money, and it is connected to your appartment. So people shifting appartments every now and then (students and similar) are often not having a land-line connected at all (eg me).
To deviate from the global thread... (Score:1)
I don't see how conventional phone companies are going to keep up unless they push DSL and such technologies a lot harder and a lot faster...
Bills (Score:2)
In underdeveloped countries, it may be much easier to run signal repeaters rather than traditional phone lines (probably easier maintenance, too).
I once mentioned to my wife that we really don't need a phone anymore since our internet service is through a cable modem and we can use our cell phone just as easily (we have voicemail). She looked at me as if I had grown a third eye. Apparently, the idea was very unconventional to her, leading me to believe that social culture will have to get used to the idea that stationary phones will become dinosaurs.
I can't count the number of times (lately) I've wanted someone to call me, but I've had to be home for the call.
Most people (in the USA) have the idea that a cell phone is an infrequently used, emergency call device. It can be so much more.
The key is the service at your house (Score:1)
GSM coverage is better in Europe (Score:2)
The only parts of Belgium where coverage is spotty is the hilly south east corner, where the signals don't get down into the tiny valleys, and downtown Brusssels when the cell sites get overwhelmed by the huge number of users. France has close to 90% coverage, with only some mountainous regions missing. Even travelling around Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia and a few other former east bloc countries has an amazing level of coverage.
I've got an american dual-band digital and analog phone for when I have to work in America. I'm constantly surprised how little coverage there is, especially when taking a road trip on the main highways. Even around DC, where I would expect a heavy investment by the local companies to provide 100% coverage, there was no signal in many places.
But getting back on topic, YES, cell phones will eventually replace much of the land line installations, but not all. Businesses will never go wireless, it doesn't make sense except for maybe the sales force. Many citizens will stick to their landlines for now, they just don't lead the kind of lives where a portable makes sense. But younger people crave the independance of a cell phone, and if you read the euro-centric newsgroups you will find a lot of support for those who want to go completely wireless in their lives.
I lived for years without a land line, but it was very tricky to get GSM service without a land line to tie it to. In France, it is close to impossible to get a cell phone without proving 'domicile fixe' with a current phone bill in your name. But friends have done it, first getting the cell phone, then cancelling their land line. Normally FT and Belgacom will not let you cancel your service until you provide them with a new address, so the best plan is to tell them you are moving to another country for a while for work or school. You might even get your deposit back
With any luck, when demand for hard lines starts to decrease, the phone companies will cut the prices way back, making POTS available for more poor people who can't afford it right now.
the AC
Roaming isn't an issue in this debate (Score:2)
No landline phone, PROS:
You're not in the phone book. No telemarketers. This is a huge benefit.
You have only one voicemail number to check.
There are months when it's actually cheaper, depending on your lifestyle.
No landline phone, CONS:
Cellphones, quite honestly, suck. I often drop connections. This is improving fast, though, even in michigan.
You're not in the phone book. No friends.
You're gonna have to figure out another method for internet.
Filling out forms for the doctor/employer/IRS is a little bit complicated when you only have one phone number.
It freaks Grandma out.
Guests have trouble figuring out how to make a call on your cellphone. (okay, that could be good)
Already happening (Score:1)
I don't have a land line. (Score:3)
The person I rent a room from has a land line phone, but I don't use it. I don't know where I'll be living in two months. I see no reason to assume I'll live at the same address for 6 consecutive months again in my life. (Though odds are I will live in one place for a long time) My phone number hasn't changed in years, and I don't expect it to change often.
Land lines are for data. If you want to contact me, I have one phone, and one number - my cell phone.
I've only encountered two areas where I don't have service, and since I was on vacation both times I didn't feel bad. Besides it was just a matter of getting out of the tent and walking up the cliff (a couple hundred feet of steep hillside really) to get service. Not a big deal.
Re:Roaming isn't an issue in this debate (Score:2)
When I'm on my American phone, I get telemarketer calls all the time, since the area code is the same as my home region, and the prefix has a mix of cell and land lines. Most of the people I know over there get them as well, and just hang up as soon as its obvious the call is not one they want. The telemarketers change their script to try to keep you on the line longer without you abrubtly hanging up. I talked to one last month, and she was perfectly aware she was calling a cell phone number and costing me money. She wanted me to buy cell phone accessories and insurance.
no landline, CONS:
Internet access? You still use a POTS modem? xDSL, Cable, Wireless, ISDN and other new technologies should make the analog modem seem archaic. I use my land line for SDSL only, it doesn't have a phone number associated with it. Freaks out the installation technician, even though he knows me through work.
Your friends require you to be in the phone book? I hand my cell number out like candy to anyone who wants it. Phone books over here only have 50% of land lines listed, so most people just shrug if they don't find you in the book.
the AC
Already happening (Score:1)
Part of this is because most European telcos stopped charging the mobile 'phone owners for receiving calls quite some time ago. I understand that this still isn't always the case in the US?
In the UK, the coverage is very good in reasonably densely populated areas, and weak only in the very least densly populated areas of the country.
With upcoming technologies like GPRS [mobilegprs.com] and UMTS [umts-forum.org], mobile data will become a sensible proposition. Given that the mobile phone operators need to make 370UKP (about $590) profit from every man, woman, and child in the UK to just cover the costs of the recent radio-spectrum auction [spectrumauctions.gov.uk], you can bet that the companies will be heavily pushing products suitable for everyone, from accessing AOL and shopping channels to real-time video conferencing. You can also bet that the 'web pads' and the like, will be using CPUs from Transmeta [transmeta.com] and ARM [arm.com], and hopefully those that aren't running EPOC [symbian.com] will be running a free [fsf.org] O [debian.org]/S [freebsd.org].
Re:Roaming isn't an issue in this debate (Score:1)
Cheers!
Costyn.
Re:Roaming isn't an issue in this debate (Score:1)
I have *never* had a telemarketer call any of the three cellphone numbers I've had. Hmmmm.
Internet Access:
I live somewhere where DSL, Cable, and ISDN are not available yet for the home. Really.
mobile phones vs. stationary phones (Score:2)
//rdj
Re:Pagers gone the way of the dodo (Score:1)
Giving up my pager was the best part of moving to Germany
-Bryce
Never looked back. (Score:1)
When I moved last October. I needed a phone. I looked at the cost of installing a hard line where I was staying and the cost of a cell phone. I compared what I needed in a phone and how I used it. Installing a hard line would have been $129 and getting a cell phone was only $119. After I added all the features that I would need to the hard line my bill would have been $65 a month. With my cell phone I got all the features I wanted plus the flexablity of a cell phone for $67 a month.
For that 67 clams I got Caller ID, Voice Mail, Call Forwarding, Detailed Billing, and Call Waiting. I have 450 minutes of "primetime" use and unlimited nights and weekend use. During the day it is a business phone and at night is a personal phone. Thank you BellSouth!
As for coverage. I'm covered 99% of the places that I go and I live in Alabama to boot.
I moved out a few months latter and I still don't have a hard line. As far as I'm concerned I never will.
911 Access (Score:1)
Re:Roaming isn't an issue in this debate (Score:2)
The whole order entry process was very wierd, they have ruled it impossible to have a phone line without service. And I was standing in the room with the senior project managers, not trying to do this to an anonymous entry clerk on the end of a phone call. But they couldn't understand how I could live without an analog phone line. Its a very strange world, the old telco mindset.
The lines had battery but no dial tone, so the technician removed them physically from the plant MDF, and wired them straight to the DSLAM. That gave me 1 Mbps in each direction since I didn't need filters at either end. I have one machine powered up all the time in my place dedicated to doing quality checks for the DSL provider. We're on good terms, so I get to do what I want, and in return I help them out with some of the strange technical problems they run into. Of course, if I were to charge them for all that work, they would owe me lots of money, but its a great learning experience for me as well.
My current project for selfish reasons is to get the cable operator and the phone company to talk IP/BGP4 to each other. Traceroute from cable to DSL goes through 14 hops and the UK, even though the routers are only a few meters apart. I've even told them I would help out with the BGP4 routing so only traffic between the 2 systems would pass, and not be a major conduit. But they are both convinced that Belgian law forbids them from talking or connecting to each other. Given the lack of any enforcement of any laws in this country, I doubt it would ever be noticed.
the AC
Re:911 Access (Score:1)
Anonymous pre-paid mobile phones ? (Score:2)
Does anyone know of where I can get such a deal ?
In what countries is this common ?
Cellphones in the UK (Score:1)
Batteries? (Score:2)
We generally get at least one >24-hour power outage a year, but the phones never go down. After the batteries run out, if I can't power my cellphone some other way, it's useless.
[Still looking forward to the next huge advance in battery technology, and the day we kiss the power grid goodbye!]
Project Angel (Score:2)
Re:Anonymous pre-paid mobile phones ? (Score:1)
can walk into a 7-11 (24 convienence store) and
pick up a disposable sprint pcs phone whenever
you want. Then, just keep on buying the pre-paid
phone cards, and plugging thier number into the
phone.
It's kind of expensive though, prepaid minutes aren't cheap. The phone itself is about $100.
- Aakin
Re:Batteries? (Score:1)
I don't find that to be a problem at all. One battery on my Nokia lasts about 2 hours of talk time and I've had it on standby for a week with out recharging it. And that is with the standard NiMH battery. I've got two of those, when one runs down I just pop another in if I need it. You can get spare batterys from ebay for $19 bucks and that is the LiON ones. You can even get a battery with 14 hours of talk time and a 40 hours of stand by. Don't have one of those and don't think I will.
Why cellular coverage is lower in US (Score:1)
I Did This Years Ago (Score:2)
* Not dependable. Mobile phone companies believe it far more acceptable to have a tower down than landline companies do to have your line dead. Neither really give a shit, but my company [intelos.com] cares a bit less.
* No phone book listing. I'd like to be in the phone book, but it just won't happen. I tried to pay them, but they still wouldn't do it. Small problem, but it does suck.
* Extensions. I'd like to have multiple phones on the same line. One in the kitchen, one in my bedroom. When the phone rings, then I wouldn't have to race across the apartment to wherever I left my phone.
* Modem. I've got a DSL, so I don't really care, but it would be nice to have the option of having a modem when my DSL dies. (Again, courtesy of Intelos [intelos.net].)
* Long distance. I pay $0.15 / minute, and I can't switch. I've never heard of a mobile phone provider that would let people switch their long distance. I can't call overseas. Intelos tries to tell me that it's technically impossible, which is a load, clearly. Once that line hits the CO, it doesn't matter what kind of a phone that I'm on. Again, I'm yet to find a mobile phone provider that would let me make overseas calls.
I won't go back to a landline. But I've been tempted, a few times, to suppliment my mobile with a landline.
-Waldo
Re:Why cellular coverage is lower in US (Score:2)
Agreed. Remember too that parts of the country are much lower yet. There are places in the US where if there was a tower, less then 100 people in a day would have the potential to use it!
Add in valleys (Which are hard to cover) and you can expect poor coverage. In any metropolition area or anyplace with big roads (The US has a great road system) the coverage is great.
Re:Roaming isn't an issue in this debate (Score:2)
I belive it is illegal to make unsolisited calls to a cell phone. (In the Us, I don't know about the rest of the world) That is you cannot call me up trying to sell me something. You can make an unsolisited call for something that I would reasonabbly want to know.
I wish xDSL, or cable modem or similear was avaiable in my area. I'm not far from the central office of either, but they won't do it. Best bet currently seems to be a uncurrent in the city to open up the fiber link they ahve around town for goverment use to everyone. (This is mostly court house to fire department and schools. I don't expect to ever see it though as security must be a concern)
Re:Batteries? (Score:1)
I have a car charger for my phone. I find it highly unlikely that any power outage would affect both my ability to find some car (any car, the neighbor's would do) that works and my local power service.
I can imangine something taking out the tower and all the power lines, but that is a slightly different problems.
It will take a while in the US, but it has started (Score:1)
I am figuring a $25-40 savings per month over traditional land-line phones. Before I used an ISDN line so we each had a number, but now we each have a phone, voicemail, callerID, etc. Long Distance is included and we have 1000 minutes to blow this month.
I know of a ouple otherr people who ditched their land line phones, I believe it will become increasingly popular, as high-speed internet access (cable, and DSL) become more popular.
What would be really cool is a cradle for the cell phone, that plugs into your homesexisting wiring, and when the phone is "docked" allows you to place and recive calls like a regular land-line. I imagine some kind of mini-pbx would actually provide the dial tone, and the interface between cell-phone and teh handsets in your house. That would be quite cool, has anyone heard of anything like that?
-MS2k
Re:What about inet acces? (Score:1)
Re:Elswhere on the globe... (Score:1)
This is the same process for many other technologies including computers and wireless networks -- in a way these countries have western nations beat because they don't have legacy systems (and whole economies like telco's and cable companies) built on 'land-based' technologies.
Sometimes we make such poor choices in the name of supporting existing infrastructure (don't get me going about gas-guzzling cars)...
what about couples? (Score:1)
Get earphones (Score:1)
Wireless Local Loop (Score:2)
I personally believe that wireless is not only feasible, it's being delayed. I'm not sure why, or by whom, but the technology is there. Financially, everyone with the capitol is doing too well to be really pressured to alter things, but it seems to me that wires should be for power, period.
As far as cell modems being slow, there is a truth to that, but wireless ethernet isn't, and I don't really see any reason why it should be building by building; Lucent manufactures mile radius plus antennae for the stuff; I think there's a market for an ISP that sets up wireless ether and rents/sells WiFi cards to those without. I think there's a market for a WLL base that could be a one time purchase and would talk to your cell phone and put it on your local line. Combine that with a single-number service and you're in business.
I really do think that there's a whole realm of possibilities that a little real innovation and invention in the wireless device field might open up.
For instance, what about a device that set cell phones within it's range to vibrate or 'take a message' mode if available. Great for meeting rooms, and better for movie theatres. Granted, we aren't there yet, and the current billing schemes are insane (for instance, at the moment, I'll bet the service providers would charge you to have your phone silenced in the movies as well as charging the theatre), and there's room for abuse (some sort of authorization or some such to prevent people from buying a kill-box and shutting peoples phones down.) but consider the benifits of a technical society freed of wires and matured beyond the expectation that that means instant access to everyone.
Rambling summary: I certainly hope wireless can beat out wired. And I think it can.
Ushers will eat latecomers.
And then... (Score:2)
Personally, I think of cell phones and beepers as leashes - plain and simple. However, I don't think of myself as a slave...
Cellular Home Phone (Score:1)
-Tim
Re:Anonymous pre-paid mobile phones ? (Score:2)
-John
Re:What about inet acces? (Score:2)
The only downside I can see is availability. Sometimes my cell service goes down (well back in the day more often than now) and my traditional phone service almost never does. But I think your on the right track, Cell only will one day be a great way to go.
No perfect solution in many areas (Score:1)
We live at the northern tip of Bell Atlantic's NJ local landline service area. According to Bell Atlantic we live in a completely different county to the people on the other side of town - calling my stepdaughter's grandmother, who lives 5 minutes walk away but who has Sprint as the local carrier, is a local-toll call.
Because we're so remote from the rest of Bell Atlantic's operations (38000 feet from the switch according to dslreports.com [dslreports.com]) our quality of service sucks. It took three months to get both of our lines working successfully - they eventually fixed it when I started talking to their repair people about getting a third line installed (which would have had to have been new copper) and cancelling one of the other two. Calls to their service department were a joke, as I started treating their estimated date for someone to come out as an opening gambit in a negotiating session, rather than a hard position ("Someone will be out on Friday morning", "Come on, that's 3 days away - I know you can do better than that. How about late afternoon tomorrow instead", "I'll take a look and see if there'll be anyone nearby then").
After all this, we can't get more than a 26Kbps connection to the web, and our voice line is useless in a rainstorm. We can't get DSL (too far away from the switch), towns 10 miles away from us don't even have cable TV service, so we've little hope of cable modems, and we live in NJ's Ski area (I bet lots of you didn't know NJ even had skiing!) so wireless reception is spotty to say the least.
Considering I'm still hoping to get one form of phone service that works consistently, and I live less than 50 miles from the biggest city in the US, I think that it's still a bit of a stretch to imagine a near-term situation where lots of people in the US are completely wireless.
Quality of Service with Big National Companies (Score:1)
Coverage in UK (well.. Enlgand) (Score:1)
Re:what about couples? (Score:1)
Don't be a slave to the phone (Score:1)
You don't have to be a slave to your phone; and it's nobody's business whether you answer your mobile phone or not.
My phone -- any phone, land or mobile -- is there for my convenience, not the caller's. If I feel like answering the phone, I will. If not, that's what voice mail is for. But I do not and will not drop everything simply because the phone demands it.
Re:Cellphones in the UK (Score:1)
To you, maybe. To us poor suckers who have to put up with the things day-in, day-out 365 days a year they get very old very quickly.
And before you ask, I know when my cellphone is ringing because it has a 'brrr- brrr' noise, unlike 99% of the other phones out there.
Re:what about couples? (Score:1)
I fall into the catagory of a GSM user with a fixed line at home. The fixed line is mainly used for Data and for longer calls. Nothing beats a mobile in terms of reachability (assuming you have good coverage, a charged battery, etc.)
Yep, that's me. (Score:1)
To the people who are saying "cellphone network coverage has to be near 100% before..." or something like that, does your landline cover the whole US? If the cellphone covers your house and the surrounding area greater than the radius of a 2.4 ghz cordless, it's more convient. Plus, if you get a small phone, and a comfortable clip, you never have to run to get a phone call.
metatopic: if you're considering a cellphone, the speakerphone on the motorola i1000 plus is incredible. Nobody every knows your on a speakerphone.
---
"What is that sound its making?"
Re:Batteries? (Score:1)
International Calls (Score:1)
---
"What is that sound its making?"
Re:911 Access (Score:1)
Each mobile is in a specific cell and operators can extract very detailed information on the phone's movements (atleast with GSM). Remember, that for a mobile to operate, it's last active location inside the network is always known.
And GPS is already available in a mobile phone from Benefon [benefon.com], a Finnish manufacturer.
US investment in landlines (Score:1)
In a way Europe has been leapfrogging, like Third World countries. Europe has phones, of course, but they weren't as pervasive or cheap or reliable as US ones. So cells look more attractive. And are easier to implement since Europe is denser, as people have mentioned.
I have yet to see this as a problem for the US. I like my DSL, and have my doubts that wireless can ever beat wires for large broadband.
Re:Batteries? (Score:1)
If only my GF would see it that way... (Score:2)
Maybe I was out trashing, looking for that discarded Pentium box companies seem to leave out now and then? Gotta turn the phone off, to keep security off my back. It won't matter to the GF - she thinks you were cheating!
Or how about the boss that calls you on the weekend to come in - right now - or be fired! - while you are at the beach? Your boss can't reach you if you don't have one - "Sorry boss, I was at the beach with my family Saturday - I did get your answering machine message when I returned at 8pm, though!".
In other words, I know I am not the slave of the phone, and the people calling know that as well - they think you are their slave...
i did it.. won't go back (Score:1)
Since I moved cross-country to Victoria, BC to begin school last September, I decided to grab a digital cellphone so I would have a chance to place and receive calls while I looked for a place to live. Fortunately, I live in Canada where we have some excellent digital providers and I was able to get a phone which works nationwide with no roaming charges. I am not a heavy phone user so it was not usually a problem to have a limit on my talk time per month. I ended up after some experimentation choosing 200 minutes and unlimited weekends each month. My phone bills were probably a little bit more than a normal landline each month but the phone allowed me to be more flexible in my usage. I consistenly brought it with me and was never out of touch when needed.
The greatest problem that I found without having a landline was the issue of Internet access. As I was computerless for a good portion of my first year, this did not pose a problem. When I finally was able to pickup a cheap used laptop, I would have loved to have a phoneline to access the Internet. Installing a highspeed connection simply wasn't an option in my case because I was moving shortly. However, high speed is obviously the way to go. Once you have tasted the speed, dialup simply is not an option.
Although I travelled rarely, we have an excellent digital coverage area in the major centers of Canada.
I never had no phone access due to faulty celltowers or some company problem. Only once or twice while I was in a known digital area did I notice my phone revert to analog mode and I had my phone on all the time! I cannot say that this is a norm but I am lucky to have a good company.
Would I recommend this as an alternative to a landline? Yes, with reservations. It has to be the right situation for you. Obviously, it might not work for families, or even couples. But, It might work for you.
What about taxes? (Score:1)
15% taxes is quite steep. Until the government gets their mitts off of wireless technology, I think the technology will remain out of reach for many people.
I just got off the Bellsouth habit... (Score:1)
Re:I don't have a land line. (Score:1)
Re:Bills (Score:1)
I'm talking about for some people. Specifically, me. When you broaden this discussion to include everyone, it introduces many other problems. But for people in particular situations -- i.e., good coverage in their area, don't make many phone calls, have cable modem and don't need a line for their ISP, etc. -- it seems perfectly reasonable.
Re:Anonymous pre-paid mobile phones ? (Score:1)
Re:GSM coverage is better in Europe (Score:1)
Businesses will never go wireless,
If you're big enough you can get a mobile company to put up a cell at your site - giving you equal or lower prices than hard lines when you stay in that cell. Then they count on taking back the investment when people are on the road and have to pay to normal prices.
This of course will only work if the mobile and the regular phone company isn't the same one.
Re:Coverage in UK (well.. Enlgand) (Score:1)
Re:Coverage in UK (well.. Enlgand) (Score:1)
Re:If only my GF would see it that way... (Score:1)
Sorry my friend, but that don't hold water any better. If your GF thinks your out cheating because you don't answer your cell phone, then it's time to get a new GF. If she don't trust you then you have other problems and that is not the fault of your cell phone.
As for your boss. I don't see where it would matter if you had a cell phone or a regular phone in that case.
Re:And then... (Score:1)
Personally, I think of cell phones and beepers as leashes - plain and simple.
I used to think that way until I got one. Now I think it gives me more freedom than anything. I can roam anywhere and anyone that needs me can get in contact with me. I have caller ID on my phone and if I don't want to talk to that person I push a button and send them to voice mail. If I don't want to be bothered at all I turn it off or silence it.
It is really no different than a regular phone if you treat it that way. Don't give people your cell number, give them your phone number. I don't tell them that I'm giving them my cell number and they never know the difference. Simple, but then again I don't have a hard line at all.
If you reguard anything as a leash then that is your own fault. When I don't want to be reached I turn it off. In fact my moble just rang and it was someone I didn't want to talk to. I just pushed a button and sent him to voice mail. Pretty soon I'll upgrade my phone and it will voice mail them for me or even better just tell them I don't want to talk to them at all.
Re:Price comparison thread... (Score:1)
Re:Elswhere on the globe... (Score:1)
Biggest complaint about a cell phone. (Score:1)
If you don't answer your home phone, people assume (surprise!) you're not home.
I don't know why, that's just how it is for me. I am expected, for work, to answer my cell phone 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Needless to say, my batteries die.. a lot.
BTW, someone asked about pricing plans. I'm on AT&T "One-Rate"; 1700 minutes a month, $149.99. Yes, I use them. (Try doing mobile tech support for a company that has 39 offices and two tech support guys.) Quality is great, coverage is spotty (in the Midwest) only in Ft. Wayne, Indiana.