The TeleInterActive Lifestyle

You can't live the life [TeleInterActive Lifestyle™] if you can't get a signal. Cell phone signal coverage, or WiFi coverage, we're always looking for signals to keep in touch, get data, stay connected. And all of us have trouble finding a signal, whether a WiFi hotspot or asking "can you hear me now". With cellular signals, staying connected once you get a signal is as big a problem as finding a signal in the first place. Rural areas have the spottiest coverage, but even heavily populated or trafficked areas have problems.

The Wall Street Journal provided coverage of this problem on page D1 of the 2005 May 25 issue, Why You Still Can't Hear Me Now. No carrier or service is immune, nor is any technology.

Most troubles are caused by inadequate coverage leading to dead areas, fluctuating signal strength/quality, and dropped calls. When I was involved in a severe car crash in March, there was no cell signal - on any carrier. [If you wish to read that post, please register and I'll make you a member; the post is protected until the insurance claims are setteled.] As I drive around the SF Bay Area, I often get dropped in the middle of a call, or can't get a signal one time where I have a good signal other times. When I stand still, while making a call, I can see my signal meter go from 1 bar to three, or three bars to five. My Sony Ericsson phone on Cingular {I was Mobile One, then AT&T Wireless, now Cingular all with the same number without me doing a thing] generally has 1 to 3 bars at my house, though sometimes it can't find the network at all. My partner's newer Sony Ericsson phone on Cingular never has a signal at my place. I'm afraid to get a new phone.

And the cell phone coverage maps from the carriers are generally wrong. Even the new online address-by-address map on T-Mobile isn't always accurate. [You can see some anecdotal evidence at "T-Mobile's New Consumer Aid"]. Cingular has something similar, but only available through kiosks at some stores. Right now, it's basically impossible to tell if you'll have a signal where you need it before you select a carrier and phone.

This has to change.