Old cell network going off air

[RamboLiberal]

Source: USA Today/AP

When Adele Rothman bought her 16-year-old son a car in 2003, she made sure to pick one that had OnStar, the onboard communications and safety system.
What the Scarsdale, N.Y., resident didn't know was that the OnStar system in the car was already doomed to die. The federal government decided in 2002 to let cellular carriers shut down analog cellphone networks, used by Rothman's Saab and about 500,000 other OnStar-equipped cars, after Feb. 18, 2008.

It's the end of the nationwide network that launched the U.S. wireless industry 24 years ago, and it leaves a surprising number of users like Adele Rothman in the lurch.

OnStar told Rothman in March its service would stop at the end of this year, in anticipation of the network shutdown in February. "I was really upset," she said, "because that was my tieline" to her son.

Perhaps a million cellphones will lose service, but those are cheap and easy to replace. The effects will be felt the most by people who have things that aren't phones but have built-in wireless capabilities, like OnStar cars and home alarm systems.



Read more: http://www.usatoday.com/tech/wireless/2007-12-21-analog-network_N.htm

[951-Riverside]

1. Just a bit OT but Analog TV is going off air February 17, 2009

http://www.dtv.gov/index.html

[zalinda]

2. And, I really don't understand why n/t

[Robbien]

4. The basic reason is

Digital signals allow networks to broadcast multiple channels in the same amount of spectrum that used to be reserved for a single analog channel.

[Tunkamerica]

6. That's the reason touted

Another reason, and it's up to speculation about how important it is, is that it opens up a lot of spectrum that the government will then auction off to cell companies and the like.

[harmonicon]

7. yeah, that part bothers me too

However, since moving to the UK this year where they have digital TV, I can tell you that it's great. Granted, British television generally has better, more intelligent programming with zero to few commercials..... maybe in the US it would open up the air for even more crap, but I certainly do like having more choices than I would on regular TV. It also means not buying cable or satellite and giving those goons money. The tv programming is still free, and this bit about you having to buy a new tv is complete crap trumped up by manufacturers and electronics stores. You just need a digital tuner, that cost me 17 pounds (about $35 - though electronics are cheaper in the US, so maybe count on $20).

[Deja Q]

13. Even though the quality of British television has declined,

it's still better than most of America's shows...

[allisonthegreat]

26. thanks for your post, thought i had to get new telly..n/t

[ChazII]

47. I thought I had to not only get a new set

but also sign up for cable or dish. Right now, I just have my set plugged in and that is it. I don't want cable or dish, either. ( I am a dinosaur, I guess) Get my news from DU and other news sites.

[AngryAmish]

45. More intelligent British TV: Benny Hill for example

Also TV broadcasting is not free, unless you like to break the law. Right now it is arounf $270 a year.

[merwin]

9. Those are the same reason.

A digital system is already in place, which can hold more channels in less spectrum. Why continue to support an old analog system that takes up a huge amount of bandwidth in comparison?

And on top of that, cell phones, which are in need of extra bandwidth for 3G services such as streaming television, music, internet, etc, could really use that bandwidth to expand their services.

[Leopolds Ghost]

35. No, the basic reason is it forces 50 million people to replace their TV set.

Which is why they haven't bothered to market a compact digital converter/antenna for people who already have a TV.

They are trying to force everyone onto pay TV anyhow. The Congress even got lobbied to convert entirely broadcast
off the air, i.e. eliminate broadcast TV and sell off the bandwidth for other use.

[kysrsoze]

37. That's alarmist B.S. Unless you watch over-the-air and refuse to subscribe to any sort of cable,

you won't even notice it. Most cable is already digital, as is all satellite TV, so the set top box does the necessary digital-to-analogue conversion. As for those who go strictly OTA, it's going to amount to an initial $50 for a converter for each TV. And if people do choose to replace their TV's, the new digital TV's are already cheaper per diagonal inch and much more energy-efficient than the old TV's. The more recent tube TV's even have digital tuners. I rather like having multiple additional channels available to me already, including 4 PBS channels at once.

I don't understand why every single thing that happens in this country has to have some supposedly sinister source. Sometimes people really are better off in the end. Technology gets cheaper all the time and you can now get high-speed internet access cheaper than dial-up.

[NashVegas]

18. So the Government Can Auction Off Public Assets (Analog Frequencies) to Private Interests

In a nutshell.

Watch for pirate radio operators to become the next terrorists.

Anyone can built a radio transmitter, or, for that matter, buy one on the cheap.

[Thor_MN]

22. 1940's technology. Let's keep it going a bit longer...

When color TV came along, they just piggybacked it onto the Black and White signal, so as to not obsolete the existing TV receivers. The time is long past due to switch to a more efficient signal and the lowered cost of electronics makes convertor boxes relatively cheap. With cable and satellite as common as they are, I don't understand why they don't just separate the tuner from the monitor. Buy the screen you want and the separate tuner with the features you need and want.

Likewise, with analog cell networks, there exists more efficient technology, so why waste the bandwidth on dated signals.

[truedelphi]

31. QUite good advice. I am always amazed at how much I learn from being on DU

[mahatmakanejeeves]

40. "Buy the screen you want and the separate tuner...."

They've been doing that for only, oh, the last thirty years. The device you describe is called a VCR. The modern equivalent is the DVR. Some DVRs come with built-in ATSC tuners, ready for use after February 2009.

[LTR]

23. Most of the world is switching to the DTV standard

We're not the only ones. Quite a few countries in Europe have already switched off analog TV. by 2020, analog TV will be mostly extinct on the planet.


And if it helps the government make money without raising taxes or social security, I'm all for it.

[Mythsaje]

3. On-Star creeps me out.

Big time.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

5. "We've unlocked your DU password."

"Have a nice day." :)















:evilgrin:

[onehandle]

12. Do you have a cell phone?

Then you are being tracked.

I would drop it where you stand and run far, far away.

:+

[Mythsaje]

19. I don't PAY them specifically to track me.

I'll be damned if I'll pay for a service that does nothing for me than that alone.

[harmonicon]

8. this one time, I had an old car, and after awhile, some stuff in it didn't work anymore - boohoo

[merwin]

10. Isn't OnStar a recent invention?

I didn't know it was in "old cars"

[onehandle]

11. That's terrible!

We should start a foundation for you.

No one should suffer the heartbreak of change of technology!

[mahatmakanejeeves]

15. But with an 8-track recorder,

I can still put my albums on tape.

[harmonicon]

17. don't do it! taping will destroy the record industry!

[Heywood J]

14. She bought her child a Saab,

and she's crying "too much" at this? For God's sake, a cell phone with GPS tracking is worth what, $50 now? If you can afford to buy your 16 year old a Saab, this is no big deal.

[NoodleyAppendage]

16. She did.

From the article...

"When Rothman complained, GM sent a $500 coupon toward the purchase of a new car. To compensate for the lack of OnStar, she outfitted her son's car with a handsfree system and a Global Positioning System."

JB

[LTR]

24. Well, how old is the Saab?

As for the OnStar, I'm sure the dealer can install an updated setup that won't break the bank. It can't be too insanely expensive, and I'm sure if she made a big enough stink, they'll cut her and other drivers a deal. Why risk losing her service?

[Paula Sims]

34. We have a 2003 SAAB and it can't be upgraded

Some GM's can be upgraded but not the SAABs. The hands free phone is nice and I did have to use the emergency to call in for someone else's accident, but otherwise we don't use it. Won't miss it and if we need a cell phone we'll get one for the car.

Paula

[truthisfreedom]

20. This is totally the fault of the car manufacturers. I bought a 2005 German-made car and within a

YEAR they had discontinued the analog emergency system, making it completely worthless. The cost to replace it? Almost $2000.

They KNEW that the analog system was going to be shut down in 2007 yet they installed worthless analog equipment in hundreds of thousands of cars, costing the consumers BILLIONS to replace them, or simply leaving them without a lifeline in the event of an emergency.

Another thing... the car's emergency system failure warning sounds a series of 13 shrill screaming tones every time I start it now.

[allisonthegreat]

27. How come they are still alllowed to advertise on television???n/t

[Tesha]

28. Because current OnStar systems use the digital phone network.

And some (but not all) of the old analog OnStar systems
can be upgraded to work on the digital network.

Tesha

[alarimer]

21. This sucks.

I work (on the water) in a very remote part of Texas with no cell phone coverage. The only phones that worked consistently was the old analog phone. Radios are not useful either if you have no base station (and no one there to man it). Single-side band may be an option but is expensive as is satellite phones. There was some kind of hybrid system that cost $500 for the phone, $50 a month for service and maybe .25 a minute. Again the state is not going to pay because it is too expensive. So I may die one day for lack of communication. Thanks, cell phone companies. Didn't ever think about what might happen in rural areas without other cell phone coverage?

[mahatmakanejeeves]

41. "... what might happen in rural areas without other cell phone coverage?"

This is why they invented CB radios.

It's all about the wattage.

[Xenotime]

25. Will this affect phones like the iphone?

[Tesha]

29. It will have no effect on modern digital cell-phones, just the original "AMPS" analog phones.

And even there, some areas will retain analog service
a while longer; the article I read specifically mentioned
some of the backwaters of Texas.

Tesha

[truthisfreedom]

30. No. Only analog phones (very old) and analog "on-star"-type systems in cars.

I believe this year they were replaced with digital systems in new cars, but as recently as 2005, analog systems were still being installed in cars.

[originalpckelly]

32. OnStar is still going to be offered on cars, these cars use the older analog version of it.

A digital network version exists and will continue to be offered, for more recent cars a $200 adapter is available to keep it working. For older models, they're simply out of luck.

[DBoon]

33. So will scanning radios still block the old analog cell bands?

(resulting from an incident where Newt Gingrich was embarrassed by some folks listening to his phone calls with an ordinary radio).

Somehow I doubt it

[mahatmakanejeeves]

39. The mandate goes back before that.

If I am not mistaken, scanners sold in the US after April 1994 were to be not only blocked from the factory, but incapable of being unblocked as well. That rule was in effect before the Contract on America.

I have a Radio Shack PRO-2006 desktop scanner with a 12A0 date code. That means it was made in December 1990. It is therefore capable of being "opened up" to eavesdrop on cellphone frequencies. I bought it at, of all places, an estate sale in September 2005. I have not bothered to make the modification, as cellphone traffic migrated away from those frequencies long ago. Also, I'm already forced to listen to people jabbering away on cellphones in the library, and I have no interest in listening to them for "fun."

[Leopolds Ghost]

36. "Perhaps a million cellphones will lose service, but those are cheap and easy to replace."

Um, yeah, cell phones are real cheap. Why, people in the third world have em!
If they die on you because the signal got converted that's your business to get
a replacement, just like Americans buy a new TV every two years anyway. :eyes:

I had a DVD/VCR that died after a year and a half, the asshole at the store said
they're only expected to last 3 years anyway thanks to the consumerist, credit
dependent culture we are living in.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

43. A new one will cost you an entire $79.99.

It's an insidious Rethuglican plot.

[proud2BlibKansan]

46. Most cell phone carriers have phones you can get for free

[radfringe]

38. similar to what happened with my partner's cellphone provider

she was with AT&T/Cingular/AT&T - about 2 years ago she gets a letter saying that her cellphone monthly charge would go up because she had one of the "old phones" and eventually they would not longer support the old phones at all.

her cellphone was only a year old, this meant she either had to buy a new phone and go on a new plan or find another provider. she barely used the "60 minutes" a month, new phones were expensive and new plans cost more than she was paying. She called around and other cellphone services were around the same price or higher. Plus you have to get locked into a 2-yr contract.

I had switched to a tracfone the previous year. Had no problem with it, and spend about $20 every 2-3 months - as opposed to $30+ a month under a regular service plan.

my partner's contract with AT&T/Cingular/AT&T would have been in 2 months - coincidently right around the time they would increase her rates - so she waited the 2 months, canceled AT&T/Cingular/AT&T and went with a tracfone.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

42. My mom has a Tracfone.

Hers was a Nokia AMPS phone. Two months ago, they wrote to offer her a new Nokia digital phone, no charge. She took them up on their offer, and that's what she has now. Of course, the old phone was candy bar-size, with buttons she could press individually. The new phone is so small that it's nearly impossible to press one button at a time. Progress, I guess.

[AngryAmish]

44. She is worried about her precious snowflake? The guy is 21.

Why do they put such bizzare people in stories? They find the one nut in millions.

[LeftyMom]

48. Wow, I guess the poor baby will get along as well as everybody who doesn't have a spendy newish car

with OnStar. Y'know, with a cell phone and maybe a AAA membership.

Poor baby.