Posts Tagged ‘Sprint’
Message To Sprint: There are no Will-O-Bees on the lake
When checking the new 4G coverage that was just brought to life in the Greater Cleveland area, I noticed something not quite right about the city names…
Sprint 4G Coverage Map showing Will-O-Bee
Given that some of those shown on the map are region names as opposed to city names (IE: West Mentor, Chagrin Harbor, Salida Beach), they are at least spelled correctly. While it may be pronounced Will-O-Bee, it should be spelled “Willoughby” as we are not in grade school. I’m assuming the term “On The Lake” refers to the community of Mentor On The Lake. So at the very least it should spell out “Willoughby On The Lake”.
Come on, Sprint! Get your act together. Staff your PR Departments with more Spelling Bee champions.
Analog Cellular Networks To Shut Down Monday, February 18, 2008
Source … InfoWorld
The FCC has mandated this coming Monday for allowing the cellular networks to turn off analog service. According to the two largest service providers, AT&T and Verizon, the number people directly affected by the shutdown should be minimal. They state that less than 1% of their customer base still haven’t made the switch to digital. While 1% may sound small, we’re talking about a customer base of about 60 million subscribers which may equate to several hundred thousand people.
Sprint and T-Mobile don’t have analog networks, but they do have partnerships with analog providers in order to provide coverage for their customers when roaming away from the digital networks. The most affected cell phone customers will be those that just keep a cell phone in the car in case of emergencies. They usually don’t see a need to upgrade a handset that they rarely use.
Mobile phones are not the only device being affected by the analog shutdown. GM’s OnStar service was originally serviced by analog in 1996 but later switched to digital. They shut down their analog service at the start of the year rather than waiting for the February 18 cutoff. While they stated last year that 90% of their customers are using the digital service and those that aren’t could be converted over to it, there are some who felt left behind and filed suit against GM.
There are also alarm companies that have relied on analog networks to alert police and fire departments. A survey taken three years ago stated that there were about 1 million homes and business still set for analog use, while 850,000 of those only used it as a backup in case of a cut phone line. Manufacturers believe that total number has been reduced to about 400,000.
Unfortunately, most people have ignored this part of the analog shutdown by confusing it with the upcoming analog TV signal shutdown which isn’t due to take place until next year.
