Re: Residents Fight to Keep Analog Cell Phones

[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Our local Cingular Wireless agency here

> in Independence tells me that all they are allowed to sell now for > use in the 620 area (that is, local service) are the newer GSM > phones.

Only the newer phones meet two FCC requirements -

-- The ability to handle Wireless Local Number Portability, meaning the phone actually has to have a number unique to the carrier in addition to the directory number. For example, I ported my

760-217-xxxx number from Verizon to Sprint last year. Before I ported, my Sprint phone had a temporary number in a Sprint exchange, 760-486-xxxx. After I ported, Sprint still associated that number with my phone's serial number, so that calls to me could be completed, but only for call routing purposes. 760-217-xxxx came through on other people's caller ID, and calls to my 217 number rang my phone.

This past month I ported out again, to T-Mobile. Since I had InPhonic activate the phone and port my number at the same time, I have no idea what T-Mobile uses as the MSID (Mobile Station ID -- Sprint's 486 number in this example, the number the carrier uses to ID the phone for call routing purposes). But calls to my 217 number now ring my T-Mo phone.

-- GPS capabilities, which are supposed to be used on calls to 911, although I'm not sure how many 911 call centers have upgraded to handle the GPS info. A couple carriers, Sprint and Nextel, are also offering location-based services that find you through GPS.

Older analog-only phones don't have these capabilities. Nor do some older TDMA/analog phones. So since Cingular is now focusing on GSM, what you were told is essentially correct.

If a person _insists_ on having one of the older style phones > it has to be in the 316 Wichita area; 620 is now strictly GSM.

Interesting. Are you talking about analog-only phones here? Some newer TDMA-only and TDMA/analog phones do have these capabilities and Cingular wouldn't get spanked by the Feds for allowing them to be used. None of the analog-only handsets have these features. It sounds like Wichita is still largely TDMA and Cingular has not completely migrated over to GSM there yet... This is not an issue with T-Mo; T-Mo has been GSM worldwide from the start, and the US carriers bought by Deutsche Telekom to form T-Mo USA were GSM-only.

Steve Sobol, Professional Geek 888-480-4638 PGP: 0xE3AE35ED Company website:

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