Analog cell service nears the finish line

0 Comments | USA TODAY, April, 2007 | by Paul Davidson

Regulators are poised to send the crackling and bulky analog cellphone to the scrap heap next February, denying a last-ditch appeal from a business group.

The shutdown of analog wireless networks Feb. 18 will mean lost service or disruptions for 500,000 GM car owners with OnStar emergency wireless service, up to 1 million alarm customers and a few million diehards who refuse to trade in their analog phones.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin is recommending the agency deny a petition by the alarm industry to delay the shutdown two years, FCC officials say. The industry says providers need more time to convert analog customers to digital. Most commissioners are likely to support Martin, officials say, noting alarm firms have had five years...