Cellphones


Why the service is lousy
I have a couple of links for cellphones that are worth your time. First up is "Why cell phones are still grounded," and it is not why you think.

The reason is that cell phones interfere with the airplane's electronics, right?

Well, no, actually. The risk posed by cell phones to airplane equipment is unknown, and will remain unknown for as long as possible.

Phones are banned for two official reasons:

1. Cell phones "might" interfere with the avionics (aviation electronics) of some airplanes.

2. Cell phones aloft "might" cause problems with cell tower systems on the ground.

Both of these risks are easily tested, yet somehow neither the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) nor the Federal Communications Commission has been able to get a definitive answer in the past 20 years as to whether phone calls in flight cause these suspected problems. (The FAA is responsible for the flight safety portion of all this, and the FCC is responsible for the cell tower part.)

The government's dirty little secret is that it cultivates uncertainty about the effects of phones in airplanes as a way to maintain the existing ban without having to confront the expense and inconvenience to airlines and wireless carriers of allowing them.

The second link is 10 Reasons to Hate Cellphone Carriers and it has some pretty good information too. This one leaped out at me.

• They're a cartel

Policies, practices and, of course, prices, are startlingly uniform across the board. By owning the framework of wireless telecommunications, the major carriers can deny market access to potential competitors, and few laws exist to effectively limit collaboration and trust.

A manufacturer of cellular technology told us recently that the carriers effectively control their access to the market: it's as simple as that. If you're in the business of making phones, you develop what the carriers — not the customers — want.

That is one reason why the iPhone has been such a runaway success. It's the first smartphone that gives the customer some of what they want. Personally I still want to see more, like encryption to prevent eavesdropping, but it is a great start.

Remember that when a company's "exclusive" market is protected by the government, they don't usually have consumer's best interests at heart. Customer choice and competition keeps companies honest and customer focused.

— NeoWayland

Posted: Tue - November 6, 2007 at 01:53 PM  Tag


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