TELECOM Digest OnLine - Sorted: Re: Is Verizon Wireless Sabotaging Older Cell Phones?

Re: Is Verizon Wireless Sabotaging Older Cell Phones?

hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com
30 Aug 2005 13:45:54 -0700

Joseph wrote:

> You may have some validity in wondering about the second. In many
> mobile forums that I've gone to I've heard it mentioned that Verizon
> will no longer activate any handset on its network that doesn't
> incorporate GPS tracking in it. The older handsets did not
> incorporate this and Verizon has a mandate that by a certain time
> 95%(?) of their subscribers must have this type of handset.

I don't know about that stuff. I do know that, for some time now,
none of the carriers would activate any analog phones. I have a
friend who has an old bag phone and goes into rural areas where there
are weaker signals and he needs the stronger power but they wouldn't
help him. The newspaper had a piece on this; people out west in wide
open spaces aren't happy.

Regarding the original poster's concerns, it's sadly nothing new with
cellular companies to be a pain to their customers. I knew someone
who got a cell phone that wouldn't work in his own house and he wanted
to cancel his deal but they refused; he had to threaten litigation
(actually get the paperwork from court) before they'd let him go.
Other companies had frequent disconnects while talking.

Batteries have a limited life span. Batteries and accessories are
very hard to find since they don't want you keeping old phones; I
guess they want the profit of selling you a new phone or having you
make use of the newest features which are a cost. Many fathers have
screamed over the text-messaging bill their kids have run up.

For myself, I've tried buying batteries at yard sales, but they're
usually no good; so I generally just use the phone in the car where I
have the adapter. I get about 15 minutes of time out of a battery so
I can use it for limited stuff and that's been helpful.

I don't think the phones themselves are built very well and probably
would just break from normal handling after a couple of years.

I do not like cell phone sales people.

I know some people use pay-as-you-go cell phones but they have dirty
tricks (purchased time expires monthly even if you don't use it), and
the companies don't treat those subscribers very well.

Supposedly competition is supposed to make it good, but all the
carriers have sunk to a lousy level which is now the base.

My impression is they want every subscriber on the $40 minimum plan.

My plan is now $20 and I suspect fairly soon they'll cancel me and
force me to upgrade. I doubt it's for technical reasons, but rather
they want $40 from me too every month and hopefully I'll use premo
features and pay even more.

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