Sometime next year analog cell phone service will cease and everyone will have to use digital. Old analog cell phones will cease to work.
But will digital phones be strong enough to work in remote areas? As I understand it, people in remote areas continue to use the older analog 'bag" phones because they have a higher powered signal necessary to reach the distant towers. Tiny digital handsets won't have that capability.
Is anyone familiar with this issue and how it will be addressed?
Good point. I hear that the GSM towers on the coast of Brittany in France make the TDMA slot size double width so people on ferries out in the channel can use them.
R's, John
Yup, its called "half rate"- four timeslots/conversations per rf channel instead of eight. The call quality dose'nt improve, the regular CODEC remains in use, they just double the "cush space" for incoming data bursts. Also used along remote highways but it's, predictably, not as cost effective/profitable as "full rate" cells.
CDMA systems don't suffer from this so much, they have a pretty wide timing window for the base reciever to lock onto & follow the mobiles signal. On the other hand they do suffer from "The Mysterious Shrinking Cell Site Syndrome". CDMA systems like everybody's signal to arrive at the same level, to do this the systems commands subscriber's phones to raise & lower thier output power so that the base station receiver sees everybody the same. If there's someone close in on a call who's phone's power output can't be commanded any lower, & you're out in the boonies (with lottsa bars showing on your screen) & your phone can't be commanded any higher, once the difference reaches a critical level you'll be denied service. :(.
This can even happen during a call in progress :( :(
I miss my bagphone :(
H.
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