| |
| |
|
Mobile & Cell Phone Information |
|
|
|
Will Your Cell Phone Work in an Emergency?
If you're one of the millions of cell phone users who count on their wireless phone for emergency 911 calling, You might want to think again........ Unfortunately, there's no guarantee that your wireless 911 call will be routed to an emergency call center. Much less, that the emergency dispatcher will have the ability to pinpoint your call's location. Why? Part of the problem is lack of service. Often, in more rural areas, your cell phone has fewer towers available to receive reception. And, many of those towers are designed for analog calls - not digital. But, since the FCC does not require it, fewer carriers offer analog service -- or the ability to connect to it. Not surprising, since much of the carriers' revenue is dependant on features available only on digital networks. Another problem? There is no uniform Ehanced 911 system (E911) for wireless carriers. The fault lies mainly with the FCC, who has once again neglected to force all carriers to conform their systems to a single technology. Because of this, there are now two very incompatable E911 systems in the works. Nextel, Sprint and Verizon each have cell phones that use the Global Positioning System (GPS) to find a caller's location. While Cingular/AT&T and T-Mobile rely on a triangulation system. Unfortunately, both E911 systems have their flaws. The GPS system needs a minimum of three satalites to be able to "read" the handset's location. Accuracy can be hampered by heavy vegetation, mountains or tall buildings. The triangulation system also has its shortcomings. The system relies on the strength and timing of cell towers to determine a location. It too, requires multiple towers for accuracy. This becomes more difficult in rural areas where towers are scarce. To compound the problem, Emergency Call Centers are not equipt with the technology needed to field E911 calls. Most smaller centers lack the funding for the sophisticated equiptment, while others lack the knowledge on how to integrate E911 into their existing system. According to a 2004 article in the San Diego Union Tribune, only about 12% of the country's 911 centers had the ability to pinpoint the location of wireless phone users emergency calls. Which cell phone is best? Dual band, or tri-band phones, allow both analog and digital frequencies. If a 911 call does not connect in a digital mode, the alternate analog network is available. The FCC mandates that any carrier offering multi-frequency phones, must allow the 911 call to roam to another service if the call can not be completed on their own network. Currently, only Cingular/AT&T and Verizon offer dual or tri-bands for both their service and handsets. Sprint PCS and T-Mobile wireless phones rely on a digital band, but provide an option to roam for an analog signal. Nextel uses the iDEN network for their cell phones. Because Nextel is the only major carrier using this technology, 911 calls may be difficult to "hand off" to other carriers when roaming and may be dropped. Sandra Landwehr is the knowledgable webmaster of The Cell Phone Advisor.com, a site offering information and advice on choosing a free cell phone and plan.
MORE RESOURCES:
Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Cell Phone Reviews - Reaping the Benefits Of Online Wireless Reviews There are a lot of benefits that are offered by the major cell phone carriers today that many people don't take advantage of - simply because they're unaware of them. Among these is the opportunity to write online cell phone reviews, with the promise of some type of compensation, such as a free phone or specific accessory. Grammy Award Winners Expected to be Heard on Cell Phones Soon Trends in music come and go, but the crown jewel of musical accomplishment has been a mainstay since its creation. The Grammy Awards are the music industry's biggest night. The Benefits of Digital Analogue is the process of taking an audio or video signal and then turning it into electronic pulses. Digital is the process of turning the signal into a binary format, represented by a string of 1's and 0's. Defeating Crime With Digital Camera Cell Phones The newest techno gadget, which is reshaping the way teenagers interact is the Digital Picture Camera 3G Cell Phone. As more and more people have these and as higher bandwidth and video compression technologies are introduced we will see a whole new realm of communication. How To Save Money On Long Distance Calling Cards And Cheap Phone Cards In the old days (7-10 years ago) there were no long distance calling cards and cheap phone cards so it could cost you a ton of money to make long distance calls. Calling your grandparents in another state or calling home from college on the weekends was very expensive and prohibitive. Finding Long Distance When a person moves, they need to hook up utilities. Often it can be difficult to know what you need to do and who to call. Donate Your Old Cellular Phone To Support A Worthy Cause With new features being added to cellular phones at an incredible rate, you may be considering upgrading your phone to a newer model. If you want to use your phone to send e-mail, take pictures, play games, or access the Internet, a new cellular phone can be an appealing option. UK Top 40 Singles: Should It Include Ringtones As Well? I noticed two interesting stories today. The first one on the BBC stated that from Sunday the UK singles chart will include online downloads for the first time, which will have a major impact on the top 10. The Cell Phone Store Effectively everybody wants the hottest and best cheap cell phones nextel, cheap cell phones in canada, cheap cell phones only when they are shown on TV. Also, there are various means of personalizing the phone to suit everybody. Can You Anticipate The Cell Phones Of The Future? We have become a society that demands the most technologically advanced equipment, and cell phones are no exception. That's why the cellular telephone industry is changing so rapidly. Free Cellular Phone Free cellular phone offers.You can definitely find a free cellular phone by looking through the promotions offered by various phone companies. Letting Go of 3G - A Viable Alternative for Asian Carriers Most Asian cellular carriers mulling over 3G have chalked out at least tentative transition paths towards that Holy Grail. If they're GSM networks, it's a safe bet EDGE (Enhanced Data for GSM Evolution) is being considered, to replace/augment GPRS for high speed data services. How to Find the Best Cellular Phone Service Deal Finding the best cellular phone service deal can seem as frustrating and difficult as shopping for a new car. Nothing can be as vexing as trying to set up a new service plan that you'll be locked into for two to three years of your life. Camera Cell Phone Sprint Camera cell phone by Sprint - offer with a service plan.Camera cell phone by Sprint offer is just an example of many types of camera cell phones offered by service providers like Sprint PCS, AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon Wireless, Cingular Wireless, and many more. Camera Phones - Are They The Real Deal? It's no surprise If you've become interested in the new camera phones being advertised by cellular service providers on television. They have quickly become one of the fastest selling technologies in U. Smart Phones - Are They Really A Smart Decision First, there was the standard land line phone system; then came the cell phone - a convenient little portable item that everyone adopted a "must have" attitude toward. Progress didn't stop there, however. Some Tips For The Safe Use of Cell Phones And Batteries 1. Increase the life span of your cell phone and battery by following the manufacturer's directions for using the phone and charging the battery. Buying A Cell Phone - Making Smart Choices Whether you're buying your first cell phone, upgrading to a newer one or contemplating a new cell phone plan, it's a good idea to thoroughly research your purchase. There are a multitude of companies, cell phone plans and rates available. Cell Phone Reviews - Why Do Them? Well let's be honest some people just don't bother doing cell phone reviews, and why should they? Well let's keep things simple, would you just walk into a car showroom and drive away within 5 minutes, not many would unless you have done your homework first. Cell phones can be complex, you need to know what you what before you jump and buy, and then there are the cell phone carriers, who to choose from. Cell Phone - Helping You Choose When the first cell phone arrived onto the market it was very basic but in those days it was classed as the best invention since electricity. Would we dispute that now? The cell phone manufacturers today are in constant battle to win over your dollars with the latest cellular phones science has to offer.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |
