TELECOM Digest OnLine - Sorted: Cell Phone Wearing Out?

Cell Phone Wearing Out?

Choreboy (choreboyREMOVE@localnet.com)
Thu, 14 Apr 2005 16:27:58 -0400

A relative complained to Verizon that she had trouble making calls on
a trip through Georgia. Her phone is six years old. The saleswoman
gave the phone to a technician who a said the transmitter was wearing
out and she needed to buy a new phone. The saleswoman offered her a
choice of second-hand phones.

In this area the phone works as well as ever, so my relative decided
not to replace it until she takes another long trip.

Do cellphone transmitters normally get weak as they age? Wouldn't
that cause a problem in normal use? My neighbor has two relatives who
switched providers because both found Verizon's coverage unsatisfactory
on trips through Georgia. Does it sound as if Verizon is conning my
relative?

[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: At first blush, I would say your
relative got a con job. The cellphone transmitter has no idea where it
is at; its job is just to radiate RF. If the phone works okay at your
house, it should work as well in Georgia; I cannot imagine that Georgia
has cellphone towers any further apart than cellphone towers are in
your area of the country, and all that should really matter in the
case of a 'transmitter getting weak from age' is how far it has to
look for a tower. If it can find a tower, that should end the problem
of 'old age'. PAT]

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