"Jitterbug" is a line of cellular phones designed to provide simple and uncomplicated voice service for people who just want the basics. The phones have simple interfaces, large buttons, easy to read displays, etc.
Pricing is a tad higher than others, but certainly in the ballpark for light usage.
A week ago the Consumer Product Safety Commission announced a "voluntary recall" in conjunction with Jitterbug and their phone supplier, Samsung, for a "911 service" problem.
Quoting from the CPSC press release:
'Hazard: The recalled cell phones that are in a no-service area and display an "out of range, try again later" message could fail to connect to emergency 911.'
(This only applies to a couple of specific models).
The stories and writeups were a bit fuzzy. After all, if the phone is out of range, how could any recall, other than retrofitting a big antenna, help?
I _thought_ I knew what they meant, and was able to get ahold of confirmatory info.
Under FCC regulations, any cell phone (and associated system) that can reach a technologically compatable base station (same frequency set, same encoding), _must_ be allowed to make a "911" call. This applies whether or not the phone has a valid "account" on that system (or, for that matter, any account).
What's been happening here is that in some areas the phones are getting a signal, but it's _not_ from one of Jitterbug's cellular partners. Hence the phone gives the owner that "no coverage" screen.
In reality they "could", if allowed, make that 911 call.
The recall is to reprogram the phones to make sure they understand this process. Once the phone is updated, if you're in an area that's got cellular coverage - but not from their partners, you'll be able to make that call to the 911 center. You won't, though, be able to reach your mother in law...
_____________________________________________________ Knowledge may be power, but communications is the key snipped-for-privacy@panix.com [to foil spammers, my address has been double rot-13 encoded]