Wireless chaos

New Mexico Business Journal, August, 2000 by Paige McKenzie

And it isn't just the service; it's also the equipment itself. "Prices on a lot of these devices are coming down," says Philip Junker, Alltel's Southwest Regional vice president. "We've come a long way from the days of the bulky five-pound, $500 cell phone." Alltel's recently launched Total Freedom plan is roam-free and toll-free, allowing users to call anytime and anywhere for the same rate, ranging from $40 for 200 minutes to $150 for 1,500 minutes. The company offers a wireless web phone for about $250. Alltel was formerly known as Cellular One.

The biggest separator for VoiceStream, according to John Green, regional retail manager, includes the features of voicemail, caller ID, call waiting, call hold and the ability to call directory assistance all offered for free. "The only features we charge for allow even deeper use," says Green.

Worldcom offers a unique advantage as well. Because the company is a reseller, meaning it buys lines in bulk from Verizon, VoiceStream and other companies, it takes what Wells terms "a different approach to the market." If a customer moves to a part of the country where his or her network has little or no presence, the customer can switch to another network with no financial repercussions.

For the credit-challenged, or for parents who want to control their kids' cell phone bills, there is prepaid service. Though prepaid service usually offers only regional rates, which can be more expensive, it can also mean no long-term contract, no credit check and no bill. Junker points our, "It allows you to take more control in managing your account." Someone with credit challenges can also often still get a free phone if they sign up for analog service, though analog service is more expensive than digital. It has other disadvantages. "Digital reception is much clearer," explains Nextel's Catherine Wheeler, Southwest marketing manager. "It is also much more difficult to clone conversations. Digital is more secure.

In the early 1980s, the federal government allowed only two cell licenses per city. Those original cell towers are analog. In the 1990s the number increased by six additional per city, and today's wireless service operates on a different frequency. Because analog service transmits a caller's voice over radio airwaves, there is more room for static and other types of interference. Digital service, on the other hand, translates a caller's voice into digital computer code. Because of the improved call clarity, cheaper cost, longer battery life, and enhanced features of digital, analog service is all but disappearing.

So are mobile phones that do nothing but call other phones. The competition between wireless companies have them scrambling to offer consumers the next newest and most cutting-edge features on their phones.

Voicemail, caller ID, and other similar enhancements are becoming old news, while short messaging service and mobile web access have the wireless industry abuzz. VoiceStream's e-notes is a two-way messaging system that allows you to send and receive e-mail messages of up to 180 characters to and from your phone or the Internet, with an address of a phone number@voicestream.net, Similarly, Verizon has a list of sites that will dial right into your voicemail and send a text message to the user. "For about 10 cents you can send net e-mail messages back and forth," says Eric Thorsen, manager of district sales and service for New Mexico. Most companies have similar systems, known as SMS, or Short Messaging Service.