Re: A Glaring Lack of the Obvious

Jasper Janssen <jasper@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
On 5 Dec 2007 22:29:44 -0500, "Keith F. Lynch" <kfl@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
I've heard that it's the same in the US with 911. Seems only fair,
given that everyone with a phone, landline or otherwise, is charged
extra for 911, even if they've never called it.

Except that the US has, at the very very least, separate phones and
networks for CDMA and GSM. Possibly even 3 of them. That means that
dialing 911 on a given phone needs it to have coverage *of its own
provider*, rather than *any coverage at all*. This is clearly inferior.

For 911, it doesn't need coverage for its provider - just coverage on a band
and technology it supports - a SIM-locked or SIM-less GSM phone can still
call 911, and CDMA phones of any carrier can digital roam to any other
carrier for 911 (otherwise depends on your plan.)

Also, at least until recently, many phones still supported analog (AMPS)
cellular as well as whichever digital system they supported, and 911 could
fall back to that.

But yes, having both CDMA and GSM does make it iffier.

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