Re: End of AMPS next month?

D. Stussy wrote:
"Edgar" <edgar@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:17CdnYXGttSoKALanZ2dnUVZ_oqhnZ2d@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Yes True. I have received three letters from Verizon in the past couple
of
months warning me that as of Feb. 18, 2008 all three phones I have that
are
analog only will be disconnected if I don't upgrade to a digital phone.
They will be turned off on that date PERIOD.

What other analog capable carriers do will remain to be seen, but Verizon
is
pulling the plug immediately on Feb 18th.

AT&T Wireless (whatever they call themselves now as it seems to change every
few months) is also pulling the plug next month. I know one of their local
tower/site maintainers who confirmed it (at least for Southern California).

They have a very big incentive to get rid of it, since they have very few customers still with AMPS-capable phones. I roam onto their AMPS network occasionally, in places like the Florida Everglades. No digital coverage at all in many parts of the Everglades, GSM or CDMA or iDEN, but AMPS reaches a long way over flat ground without obstacles. Alas, that coverage will likely be gone next month, despite the FCC's rules. If anyone complains that they weren't allowed to turn off AMPS until digital provided equivalent coverage, they'll say that they never claimed to cover those areas that lost coverage.
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Outa here.
    ... coverage because all of them had less than 100% coverage. ... I carried both a Cingular and a Verizon phone for quite a few ... CDMA/AMPS coverage, but now coverage has worsened with the loss of AMPS ... beat the AMPS service on the same tower (except, maybe, if the CDMA ...
    (alt.cellular.verizon)
  • Re: Coveverag in 95008
    ... following "sunset" of the AMPS mandate. ... coverage provided by the smaller carriers along long stretches of state ... same level of Cingular's coverage for a couple of years now. ... AMPS "sunset" will stimulate improved digital coverage in rural areas, ...
    (alt.cellular.cingular)
  • Re: FCC needs to revisit cellular robustness
    ... >>PS the existing AMPS system likely made it through the whole ... Unfortunately few have phones that'll do analog ... AMPS has signifcantly greater coverage per tower ... > coverage of AMPS towers. ...
    (alt.cellular.cingular)
  • Re: Arent there any cell phones that work?
    ... The big difference between AC1 and AC2 is AMPS, and the difference in terms of area is very large. ... Large areas of "roaming or no coverage" disappear when you switch from AC1 to AC2. ... The good thing is that the carrier can't shut it off until they replace it with digital, as the call boxes need to be kept in service. ...
    (alt.cellular.verizon)
  • Re: TDMA Shutdown
    ... coverage in areas with one service but not the other. ... larger coverage area than low power digital units--there is no way you ... That's probably a function of not all legacy AMPS towers having been ... In an apples to apples ...
    (alt.cellular.cingular)