Appendixes

Appendix A-Cellular Standards (AMPS, CDMA, GSM, iDEN, TDMA)

AMPS (Advanced Mobile Phone System) [AT&T and Verizon, accessible with Sprint]
This is the original analog cellular system, introduced in 1983. It is still widely used in rural areas of the country, but I don't think that you can actually sign up for analog-only service anymore except in a few very rural places, i.e. Alaska. Nearly all CDMA and TDMA phones will fall back to AMPS system when no digital signal is available (GSM phones do not have analog capability). Battery life is greatly reduced when operating in analog mode. Coverage is excellent throughout the Bay Area, and nationwide. Sprint's ad campaign, "PCS, the Clear Alternative to Cellular," means a clear alternative to AMPS. It is a campaign against a technology that you can't even buy on its own anymore. The AMPS system will eventually be shut down (once digital coverage is pervasive). For now, consider analog your nationwide back-up plan unless you're on AT&T, Cingular or T-Mobile GSM, or on Nextel iDEN. The FCC has given carriers with AMPS networks permission to shut them down in 2008 (recently extended from 2007).

CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) [Sprint and Verizon]
This system is used by Sprint and Verizon. Sprint is at 1900Mhz, Verizon is mostly at 800Mhz with some 1900Mhz coverage as well. Verizon coverage is excellent throughout the Bay Area (Sprint coverage at 1900Mhz is still good, but not as good as Verizon) and nationwide. High-speed data (1.44Mb/s peak) is available on Verizon and Sprint (CDMA2000 1x).. Sprint dual-band, tri-mode, phones will roam onto Verizon's 800Mhz or 1900Mhz network if the Sprint network is not available (roaming charges apply), and vice-versa. Verizon's America's Choice plan includes some roaming on Sprint (less and less as Verizon worsens the plan), but there is no Sprint plan which includes any included roaming on Verizon. Eventually, CDMA2000 3x will offer 2Mb/s data.

GSM (Groupe Spéciale Mobile or Global System for Mobile Communications) [Cingular, T-Mobile, AT&T]
This system is used by Cingular and Voicestream (T-Mobile) in California. AT&T and Cingular are implementing GSM across their networks, and will eventually deactivate their TDMA networks. GSM is used in much of Europe and Asia (but not in Japan or South Korea). In the U.S., the present GSM frequency is 1900Mhz, but 850Mhz is being added. In Europe and Asia the GSM frequencies are 900Mhz and 1800Mhz. There are many GSM phones that support 900Mhz, 1800Mhz, and 1900Mhz (tri-band); quad-band phones that add support for 850Mhz are starting to appear. Coverage is poor throughout the Bay Area and nationwide. GSM phones do not roam onto analog or CDMA or TDMA, though Nokia is coming out with a GSM/TDMA/AMPS phone for TDMA carriers that are converting to GSM. A GSM-only phone is not a wise choice at this time because of the coverage issue. High-speed data (1Mb/s peak) is available. GSM will eventually evolve to EDGE in the U.S.(384Kb/s data), UMTS in Europe (2Mb/s date). UMTS will offer high data rates in a separate spectrum. There is no plan for U.S. GSM operators to offer UMTS because they have no additional spectrum for it.

iDEN^TM (Integrated Digital Enhanced Network) [Nextel]
This system is used by Nextel. Only Motorola makes phones for the iDEN system. iDEN coverage is not bad in the immediate Bay Area, but there is no coverage outside of urban areas and no roaming onto other systems. It's a system used primarily by businesses due to its 2 way radio emulation. This system is not recommended for individual users due to the lack of coverage outside the urban core. Nextel is very close-mouthed about their plans, but it appears as if they are going to overlay CDMA on their iDEN network, and eventually phase out the iDEN network. They are developing Direct Connect for CDMA2000.

TDMA (Time Division Multiple Access) [AT&T, Cingular]
This system is presently used by AT&T and most Cingular markets other than California and the Northwest. TDMA is bandwidth inefficient. There is no migration path to high speed data. The TDMA networks will be shut down once AT&T and Cingular complete their migration to GSM (which is an evolution of TDMA technology). Coverage is excellent throughout the Bay Area, and nationwide. The TDMA network will be around for at least eight more years. However there are TDMA/GSM combination phones already available (I'd avoid these phones for now, because they lack analog coverage and they don't work on the newest GSM frequency of 850Mhz). Nokia is coming out with a GSM/TDMA/AMPS phone for TDMA carriers that are converting to GSM. As long as you have no need for high speed data, TDMA is still an excellent choice for the next couple of years.

GAIT
GAIT is an acronym for GSM ANSI-136 Interoperability Team. GAIT is a standard that allows seamless roaming between TDMA and GSM. AT&T and Cingular have implemented GAIT in order to ease their transition from TDMA to GSM. GAIT handsets also included AMPS capability. There are two GAIT handsets, the Nokia 6340i and the Sony-Ericsson t62u. For subscribers going with a GSM carrier it is recommended that they choose a GAIT handset because the U.S. GSM networks still lack ubiquitous coverage. Note that in Cingular's western region you cannot obtain a GAIT phone from a retail outlet or on-line. Please e-mail me if you are interested in a GAIT phone in Cingular's western region and I can put you in touch with the proper department at Cingular (this contact information in not publicly available).

Appendix B-Spectral Efficiency Comparison of Cellular Technologies
It's hard to find unbiased articles regarding the battle between CDMA2000 and UMTS (aka WCDMA). Most articles are written by members of the CDMA Development Group & Qualcomm (pro-CDMA2000) or by GSM lobbying groups or European equipment manufacturers such as Nokia & Ericsson (pro-UMTS). Be wary of any studies or articles from the following sources:

http://www.3gamericas.org (pro-GSM)
http://www.3g.co.uk  (pro-GSM)
http://www.gsmworld.com  (pro-GSM)
http://www.nokia.com (pro GSM)
http://www.ericsson.com (pro GSM)
http://www.qualcomm.com  (pro-CDMA)
http://www.cdg.org (pro-CDMA)

I've read many articles from these sites and I find that the pro-CDMA sources tend to focus on the spectral efficiency advantages of CDMA while not addressing the cost advantages of GSM in areas where spectrum is not an issue. The pro-GSM sources do not dispute the spectral efficiency advantages of CDMA but they claim that with yet-to-be-deployed and yet-to-be-proven enhancements, that GSM can equal the spectral efficiency of CDMA.

The two camps are in a war for the uncommitted countries and carriers. CDMA has been victorious in China and India. GSM had a big victory in Mexico with Telefonica’s switch from CDMA to GSM, and is making gains in South America.

I did find two good independent sources of spectral efficiency information.

One is an excellent study by Deutsche Bank Securities. It states that per 5 Mhz of spectrum the number of users are as follows:

Another is an article by respected industry analyst Andrew Seybold. It doesn't include the spectral efficiency of UMTS, which is estimated to be 10x of AMPS (2x the current GSM efficiency) so I made a table that added UMTS and CDMA2000 1x. The relative numbers for UMTS versus CDMA2000 1X are for spectral efficiency for voice; there is no data on comparative efficiencies for data (no pun intended).

The Deutsche Bank Securities' study is a bit more conservative in its numbers for all technologies, but both reports show a compelling advantage in spectral efficiency for CDMA. Additionally, many people do not realize that W-CDMA, designed for high speed data, does not even match CDMA2000 1X in terms of voice capacity.

It is impossible to predict a winner in the standards war, but CDMA2000 has already been deployed in many countries, while UMTS has been deployed commercially only in Japan by NTT, and has been a flop (see http://www.chip.de/news_stories/news_stories_8635965.html (in German)), while CDMA2000 in Japan has been a success. Also see article, Dark horse steals march in race for 3G standard. CDMA2000 has also been a big success in South Korea. China and India are deploying CDMA2000.

UMTS is far into the future, EDGE and CDMA2000 3xwill be deployed in the next couple of years.

Bottom Line on Spectral Efficiency as it Relates to the San Francisco Bay Area, Southern California, and New York City
AT&T, Cingular & T-Mobile are already suffering from a lack of sufficient spectrum, and it will get worse for them if and when they deploy EDGE. 

AT&T is overlaying GSM on their TDMA network. AT&T is initially deploying 1900Mhz GSM, but will also be overlaying 800Mhz GSM which will work better inside buildings. AT&T is not expected to have the problems that Cingular ant T-Mobile are experiencing in their TDMA areas.

SprintPCS and Verizon are going to CDMA2000 1x then CDMA2000 3x.

In five years, it'll come down to whether high speed data (2Mb/s on CDMA2000 3x versus 384Kb/s on EDGE) is more or less important to you than international roaming. However AT&T will be deploying high speed data in four cities in the U.S. at speeds that will come close to CDMA2000 3x. Cingular has publicly stated that while high speed data remains a vision, they have no plans to deploy it (they would have to buy more spectrum to do so).

Appendix C-Voice Quality of Digital Systems
The rankings of voice quality versus technology are:

CDMA and GSM voice quality are both very high. Under normal use you would be hard-pressed to detect a difference between GSM and CDMA. With CDMA voice quality can degrade as the network becomes more congested (to increase capacity), but with GSM once you get a line you have guaranteed bandwidth (at least as long as you don't switch cells during the call).

The ability to degrade quality to increase capacity may be one reason why Verizon is not experiencing the capacity problems and dropped calls that Cingular, T-Mobile, and AT&T are struggling with. A 1997 study gave Pacific Bell Wireless, now Cingular (GSM 1900 Mhz), top marks for sound clarity, and GTE, now Verizon (CDMA 800Mhz), top marks for placing and completing calls. SprintPCS (CDMA 1900Mhz) was ranked last in all categories, but this may be more due to the poorer coverage of SprintPCS as compared to Verizon, and the disadvantage of operating at 1900Mhz versus 800Mhz.

References

• http://www.wirelessdevnet.com/channels/wireless/training/mobilewirelesstoday6.html

• http://members.optushome.com.au/mrvfone/vfone/techtop/gsm_cdma.htm
• http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&selm=01bcd7fa%24c5b1f020%24749a2e81%40bwallace.qualcomm.com
• http://www.dopejam.com/byecanada/themove/article1_cellphones.html

Bottom Line on Voice Quality
GSM can have better voice quality than CDMA (if the CDMA network is congested), but the reality is that they are very close. TDMA has the poorest voice quality, but it's still acceptable.

Appendix D-Churn
Churn is an industry measure of customer turnover. It is calculated as the number of people who stopped service, divided by the size of the base.

Churn is NOT primarily caused by a competitor having a lower rate plan (see chart below, which represents the causes of churn for one carrier (not named in the study)). Amazingly, the number one cause of churn is handset problems, though in reality a lot of what a customer claims are handset problems (dropped calls, static) are more likely coverage problems. Second is cost, not that of a competitor, but just the cost of service in general. Third is coverage. Fourth is competitor's rates and plans, which account for only 9% of churn.

It is interesting to note the actions of the various carriers to combat churn. SprintPCS has an aggressive program to combat churn with a separate retention department that offers lower rates to induce subscribers not to leave, though this does not address Sprint's coverage issues; except for Cingular's GSM areas, SprintPCS has the worst national coverage of any of the top carriers.

Appendix E--Links to Non-Commercial Wireless Carrier Evaluations Sites
Atlanta

New Hampshire & New England

New York City

Oregon and Pacific Northwest

Reno

San Francisco Bay Area

South Dakota

Southern California

Southern Ontario Canada

Please send me links to other areas' non-commercial sites

Appendix F--V.90 Dial-Up Modem Recommendations
This is off-topic, but I've received some e-mails regarding my recommendations for V.90 modems, due to the issue of dumping a second landline, using the remaining landline for data, and a CellSocket for voice. I have a great deal of experience with hard modems, controllerless modems, soft modems, and AMR modems, so I'm happy to help out.

Hard Modem (Controller Based Modem)
A hard modem has it's own micro-controller and microcode. The micro-controller does error correction, data compression, and handles the protocols. Hard modems can be used on most operating systems, including DOS, Linux, OS/2, and all versions of Windows. A hard modem does not use the host processor's resources and does not affect performance of the PC. Hard modems are the most expensive modems, but some offer extra features that are not available on controllerless modems and soft modems. Hard modems have a data pump which performs the modulation and demodulation. The $35 extra you'll pay for a hard modem is well worth it.

Recommendations: 
PCI: ActionTec PCI V92 V44 Call Waiting Modem. The call waiting feature on this modem can save the light user the expense of a second phone line. This modem uses the excellent Agere (Lucent) chipset.

External: Multitech MT5656ZDX-V, ActionTec V.92/V.90 External Call Waiting Modem

Controllerless Modems (WinModems)
A controllerless modem (often referred to as a WinModem) does not have its own micro-controller; the code for the modem runs on the host processor, usually an x86 CPU. Controllerless modems are usually designed to work only with a Windows operating system on an x86 CPU, though there is often code available to use them with Linux running on an x86 CPU. Controllerless modems use the host processor's resources, and on lower speed processors they can have a measurable impact on system performance. The advantage of controllerless modems is that they are very inexpensive. Controllerless modems have a data pump which performs the modulation and demodulation.

Recommendations: ActionTec 56K PCI Pro. This controller less modem uses the Agere (Lucent) controllerless modem chipset.

Soft Modems
Soft Modems, aka HSP (host signal processor) modems, are controllerless, and also lack a data pump. 

Recommendations: None

AMR Modems
AMR modem use the audio codec interface built into the AC'97 port of the PC's south bridge chip. 

Some motherboards have slots, called AMR slots, where you can insert an AMR modem. AMR modems are usually used in portables or in very low cost desktop PCs and are not normally sold at retail.

Recommendations: None

References

• http://808hi.com/56k/

• http://www.modem.com/

• http://www.net-boy.com/

Appendix G--Computer Hardware Recommended by Steven M. Scharf
There's a lot of junk out there. Trust the experience of someone who's been in the PC business for 22 years, working for a printer company (Diablo), network companies (Tymshare, Tymnet, Nestar, DSC Communications, Aquila), motherboard company (ECS-Elitegroup), and the personal computer product lines of semiconductor companies (National Semiconductor).

Recommended System Configurations

Appendix H--DSL & Broadband (Carrier's are specific to San Francisco Bay Area)
If you dump your landline then you'll need to seek alternatives for data. There are two alternatives, broadband or DSL.

Broadband
Due to capacity and security issues, broadband (data over cable TV wires) is not recommended. Since broadband data is similar to a party line the capacity goes down as more and more people attempt to use the resources. Also, AT&T Broadband does not offer static IP addresses. Broadband is more expensive, at $57-60 per month from AT&T (less if you also subscribe to AT&T cable TV). There is no dial-up access available with AT&T broadband, a real pain when traveling.

DSL
With AT&T's (now Comcast) huge price increase for broadband cable internet (if you are not an AT&T cable television subscriber), DSL is less expensive, plus it does not have the security and capacity issues of cable. Choose a DSL provider that can provide a static IP address. In the San Francisco Bay Area there are four providers you can use that offer static IP addresses. Sonic.net charges $50-58 per month.  DSLEXTREME.COM charges between $40 and $50 per month, Rawbandwidth.com charges between $55 and $64. Earthlink charges between $57.50 and $60. Do not go solely by price. Check the data rates, the availability of dial-up access (and whether it is included or it is an extra cost option), the number of IP addresses, the amount of web space, whether or not you have to pay for equipment, and the length of contract. Beware that when you ask Earthlink for a static IP address they may not tell you that there is an extra fee for it.

AOL, Covad, and SBC Pacific Bell do not offer static IP addresses for their residential accounts, and hence they are not included in this comparison. DirecTV DSL is shutting down as announced on December 13, 2002 (see: http://www.directvdsl.com/).

AT&T's message is clear; they don't want any more broadband internet-only customers. If you want satellite TV (or g-d-forbid no TV at all), they'd prefer that you go elsewhere for data. Clearly they believe that this bundling will help them sell more cable TV subscriptions and halt the exodus to DirecTV and DISH Network. Wow, now we offer get bad quality TV transmissions bundled with bad quality broadband internet for one not-so-low price.  It reminds me of the New Yorker cartoon of the two mafia types delivering vending equipment to a business and informing the owner that if he wants a water cooler then he has to take the jukebox too.

Comparison of DSL Providers with Static IP addresses, and Broadband Providers (no static IP addresses)

Bottom Line
You get what you pay for when selecting a technology and a provider for high speed internet access. My advice is to choose Sonic.net or Earthlink. The big advantage of Sonic.net is that you get 4 static IP addresses rather than just 1, but the advantage of Earthlink is that the equipment is included.  Earthlink also has an advantage due to the availability of nationwide and worldwide dial-up access.

Navas Cable Modem/DSL Tuning Guide^TM
This web site provides excellent advice on speeding up your DSL or Cable Modem connection.

Appendix I--Links to Verizon PRL Information 
Verizon Wireless has threatened legal action against the owner of a web site (www.justalurker.com) that posted the details of PRLs. Rather than fight corporate lawyers, the owner of the site has removed the details of the PRLs. However Google caches web sites for a while, so the details are still available for now. This story was picked up by CNET, ZDNet, and Slashdot (among others). The CNET story is actually quite amusing as the Verizon spokesperson makes about five erroneous statements in a very short article.

"Verizon Wireless asked that the information be removed because PRLs are supposed to be confidential," according to spokesman Brian Wood. "If public, they could give away information considered vital to Verizon Wireless."

How can something that is inside millions of phones possibly be confidential. What is the information that is vital to Verizon Wireless? The 800Mhz SID information is available free from the FCC. The 1900Mhz PCS SID information is sold by http://www.americanroamer.com. Notice that he did NOT say that PRLs are confidential, but that "they are supposed to be confidential."

"I can't think of any reason why customers would need this information. If you need to know where you're <sic> phone works, just call customer service."

Hmm, try calling customer service and asking why your phone no longer works in parts of Greater New York City. Customers and potential customers need to know where coverage is good, where it is poor, and where it has been removed entirely; something Verizon desperately does not want them to know!

Wood and the publisher disagree on whether the information that had been posted was accurate. The publisher said all the data was available online, while Wood said he refuses to believe that the anyone was able to "reverse engineer" the listings from that information. "You might be able to make a stab at it," Wood said. "But look at the detail (that was once posted on the site.) There's stuff there beyond the PRL."

SID information is public. The listings are generated by simply looking at the data for each SID in the PRL. The only real question is how was the raw PRL obtained, but there are ways to get this information out of a phone.

Yeah, very sly. Notice that he did not deny that there was a change in coverage, just that there was no change in coverage area. Though even this is not true.

Verizon didn't do this because they care if a few enthusiasts learn about their decreasing America's Choice coverage. They did it because they don't want the story to come out in the mainstream media. It's a little late for a cover-up. Verizon signed up masses of new customers with America's Choice with one set of coverage, then they went about eliminating a lot of that coverage. Verizon does reserve the right to change PRLs, but the issue of decreasing coverage after a contract was signed is another issue entirely. 

These links may not work for long, but for now you can view them. There are new sites being created with the PRLs, but they are not yet complete, try: http://www.geocities.com/lovemyprls/ and http://home.austin.rr.com/bchandler/.

Last Full list (cached on Google)

Mountain Wireless PRL information and Change List

PRLs cached on Google

50010     50011     50014     50015     50017     50018     50022     50024     50028     50037     50048      42000

What can you do?
Write letters to the attorney general in your state urging them to begin an investigation of Verizon's actions. If your state's public utilities commission regulates wireless carriers in your state also send a letter to them. Be sure to send a copy to Verizon as well. I have included a sample letter as well as addresses of all 50 attorney generals, and web sites of all 50 public utility commissions.

Canceling your Verizon service is another step you can take, though it is unlikely that the reason for your cancellation will reach the Verizon executives.

Send me reports of loss of coverage, especially complete loss of coverage in an area. The reason for the latter is that contractually Verizon can change PRLs and they do not guarantee complete coverage in areas where they have a network presence. The bigger issue is whole areas that lost coverage as a result of the PRL changes; I have eight reports of this so far, but would like more before contacting the PUC again.

Click for Sample Letter to State Attorney Generals and State Public Utilities Commissioners

Appendix J--Hearing Aid Compatible Phones

I never thought of this issue until I received an e-mail from a reader of this site inquiring if I knew anything about which cellular phones, without the use of a neck loop, are hearing aid compatible.

First of all, most older analog phones are hearing aid compatible. A lot of CDMA and TDMA phones are hearing aid compatible if they can be forced to analog only. But this is not much good these days, and will become even less relevant as the AMPS system is shut down.

Forget about GSM and TDMA carriers for hearing aid compatible phones; they don't exist. You have to stick with CDMA, where there are apparently several choices. Be sure to try a phone before you buy, as there are no guarantees that a phone that works with one hearing aid will work with all. Supposedly the 800Mhz CDMA frequency that Verizon uses in most areas causes less interference than the 1900Mhz CDMA frequency used by Sprint.

Currently available CDMA phones that have been reported to be hearing aid compatible:

Telecoil

Samsung SCH-T300, Tri-mode, Verizon

LG-1010, Dual-Mode, Sprint

Cochlear

Sanyo SCP-4700, Tri-Mode, Sprint

Kyocera 2035, Tri-Mode, Sprint

Kyocera  2135, Tri-Mode, Verizon

Appendix K--Landline Long Distance Services <4¢/minute Long Distance Services with no Monthly Fees and No Low-Usage Fees

SBC Pacific Bell has just entered the long distance business with very high rates. Off-peak, it makes sense to use your cell phone for long distance as long as you have a lot of off-peak minutes available; during peak times you may need a long distance carrier or calling card.

You can instruct SBC Pacific Bell to remove your long distance carrier completely, you are not required to have one. When you try to make a long distance call (other than intra-LATA) you will get a recording stating that you must use a long distance carrier (i.e. 10-10-XXX). This is a good way to force everyone in your household to use calling cards such as OneSuite.

Note that you must use on-line billing with credit card auto-pay in order to waive the monthly fees and/or low usage fees.

"Dial 1" Service (Interstate Rates are Listed, In-State Rates are Usually Higher)
3.9¢ Pioneer Telephone: http://www.pioneertelephone.com/ but also check http://www.smartprice.com/ for lower prices on Pioneer (3.5¢) but with a 40¢ fee if your bill is less than $15 per month (100 minutes is the break-even point for this fee). Intra-LATA is available at the same rate.

3.9¢ Airespring Global FiberNet (no web site, sold only through agents, search on Google.com)

3.9¢ Capsule Communications http://cognigenld.com

The problem with "Dial 1" service is that Intra-LATA is not covered; you'll still be paying the high Pacific Bell toll charges for local toll calls. These calls can make up a large portion of your monthly phone bill.

No-PIN Calling Cards
2.5¢  Onesuite.com: http://www.onesuite.com/  Onesuite.com offers what is probably the best and easiest to use calling cards. You can register up to three telephone numbers with them, and when you call their access number it recognizes the origin of the call and automatically identifies the calling card to debit. This works even if you have Caller-ID Blocking. You can program your telephones at home with the access number and then you have to press only one extra button when making a call. Best of all, their service works for local toll calls as well as interstate and intrastate calls. 2.5¢ is if you use one of their local access numbers, it's 2.9¢ if you use their toll free access number.

I do not know of any other no-PIN calling cards. 

PIN Calling Cards
Costco sells a 575 minute MCI calling card for $17.99. This works out to 3.13¢ per minute. These cards are quite a hassle with the long PIN number following the 10 digit access number; you can't even program all this into most phones.

Sam's Club sells AT&T calling cards in denominations between $20.82 and $202.82 with a per minute rate of 3.47¢.

How does this Compare with SBC Pacific Bell and AT&T?
SBC: 7¢ per minute for plan with no usage fee or monthly minimum; billed with your local phone service

AT&T: 9-10¢ per peak minute for plan with no usage fee or monthly minimum (5¢ weekends OR 5¢ nights is available with these plans (not both)); on-line billing required. AT&T charges $4.95 per month if you want a plan that gives you 7¢ at all times; on-line billing not required.

Appendix L-- Lowering Intra-LATA and Landline Costs
LATA is an acronym for 'Local access and transport area.' Intra-LATA calls are those within your own region, i.e. the San Francisco Bay Area. These calls can make up a large part of your monthly phone bill if you have friends or relatives that live in nearby cities. At this time (this may soon change) you cannot sign up to use a long distance carrier  for your Intra-LATA calls; they all go through Pacific Bell. Pacific Bell charges high per/minute rates for these calls. Wh

at has prevented alternatives for intra-LATA calls in Pacific Bell's intransigence in letting other carriers into this lucrative market. The carrot for Pacific Bell is if they open up intra-LATA to other providers then they get permission to offer long-distance service. Undoubtedly Pacific Bell is weighing the intra-LATA revenue they may lose to the long distance revenue that they may gain. AT&T, Worldcom, etc. are fighting against allowing Pacific Bell permission to offer long distance service.

There are two ways to lower your intra-LATA costs. The obvious one is to use your cellular phone, rather than your landline, for off-peak intra-LATA calls. This is where a CellSocket is especially useful (though not required by any means). Another is to use a calling card, such as those offered by Costco (3.3 cents per minute) or onesuite.com (2.9 cents per minute). The onesuite.com card has a really neat feature that lets you tell them up to three numbers that you will be using the card from, and then they use caller I.D. or ANI (automatic number identification) to eliminate the need for you to enter your PIN number. So you can program your home phone with the access number and only have to press one extra button when making calls.

You may also benefit from changing your home phone service from flat rate (unlimited local calls)  to measured rate. Pacific Bell cleverly does not disclose the per call charges for measured rate on their web site.

You get a $3 allowance with measured rate service. All calls are timed. You are billed for whatever you use over your $3 allowance.

This saves about $5 per month if you don't go over your $3 allowance. Remember that even with measured rate service you a) don't use up your minutes for toll-free calls and b) don't use up your minutes for calls outside your zone which you pay for no matter what. The zones in the Bay Area are very small, so a lot of people don't make enough local calls to make flat rate worthwhile. Switching to measured rate is probably not a good idea if you have teenagers that make a lot of long local calls to their friends. If you use your landline for Internet access then measured rate is almost certainly a terrible idea, but if you have DSL or broadband for internet access it may work out to save you money.

For many people, they are at work during the day so they will never be using minutes up at the highest rate. On nights and weekends they can use their cell phone's gobs of off peak minutes. On weekday evenings they will use their measured rate allowance until 8:00 or 9:00 pm when their cell phone's off peak minutes kick in. For long distance and  Intra-LATA calls on weekday evenings they can use a calling card like onesuite.com.

If you want to simplify this whole thing you could do the following:

1. Install two-line phones at each outlet in your house.

2.  When you come home, drop your cell phone into the CellSocket which is connected to line 2 (outer pair, usually black/yellow).

Line 1 is for all calls during peak cellular hours, using a calling card for long distance and intra-LATA calls (a PIN free calling card is best). It is also used for faxes. Program the calling card toll-free number into each phone.

Line 2 goes through a CellSocket and is for all calls during off-peak cellular hours.

Encourage your family to modify their phone usage to take full advantage of off-peak cellular minutes.

Appendix M Going "Tellular"--Eliminating your Landline
More and more people are getting rid of their landlines completely. If you choose a cellular carrier with good coverage, and don't gab on the phone a lot during peak hours, going all-wireless can be significantly less expensive. With a mobile phone you don't pay extra for caller ID, or call-waiting, or voice-mail, or long distance (on many plans). You can even connect your entire home phone network to your cellular phone using CellSocket. You do lose the ability to use analog modems and FAX machines, but if you have DSL or broadband (and a scanner for faxes) then this is not an issue.

The FCC estimates that 3-5% of the U.S. population have dropped their landline service and gone completely wireless for voice services. Most colleges and universities that resell landline service and long distance service to dorm residents have seen a big drop in revenue.

Another report stated that while the number of people that got rid of their landline is currently less than 5%, this total is expected to increase to 20% overall, and go to 50% for some demographic and geographic areas

In Finland, 19% of the population has gone completely wireless (this was in 1999, by now it is certainly even higher). Finland is the trendsetter in terms of wireless.

The problem for landline providers go beyond the relatively small, though not insignificant, percentage of people who have dropped their wired services completely. A bigger problem is the loss in revenue from providing long distance services, and the cost of providing service to dial-up computer users who spend hours on-line, and are content enough with dial-up speeds to not cough up the extra money for DSL. While one study reported that only 3% of consumers have abandoned their landline in favor of cellular-only, the study also stated that 26% of of all minutes are now wireless. What's happening is that consumers are using their gobs of off-peak minutes with free long-distance instead of placing long distance calls on their landline with a long distance carrier such as AT&T, MCI, or Sprint. I'm even calling people I don't like, just to use up my off-peak minutes.

MetroPCS, which just started service in the San Francisco Bay Area, offers unlimited local calling for $35 per month, but charges 5 cents per minute for domestic long distance. Unfortunately, none of their phones are usable in a CellSocket.

One downside of abandoning your landline is that 911 calls from your cell phone cannot be automatically traced to your residence; you need to give your address. Hence, in a house with small children or the elderly, having no landline is not a good idea.

Relevant Links
(please e-mail me if any of these links no longer work)

• http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=9556920&BRD=1459&PAG=461&dept_id=155725&rfi=6

• http://wirelessnewsfactor.com/perl/story/19409.html

• http://www.montereyherald.com/mld/mcherald/2002/06/24/news/state/3533132.htm

• http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/06/24/tech/main513202.shtml

• http://www.usatoday.com/news/poll010.htm

• http://www.union-network.org/unitelecom.nsf/f883670a51012647c125681100363a47/daa1fddcaf3194bcc1256be3002b92ab?OpenDocument

• http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/3865831.htm