< didn't understand the term "roaming">
That snip came from a newsgroup posting and supposedly of people using Cell Phones in Europe. I have seen many claims of how wonderful roaming is in Europe vice the US. I understand that the population density is high in much of Europe and a day's drive may take one through many different countries, each with their own government, monetary system (the euro to fix this?), cellular operators( sometimes several), and language. In the US, a day's drive will take you from one end of California to the other, a distance of about 800 miles. Much of the US is empty, which is very apparent by looking out the window of a commercial airliner leaving LAX and heading east. Vast empty spaces are seen well before you reach cruising altitude. I would expect that cellular coverage is poor or non-existent in many of these areas, such as Death Valley. The LA population center is about 40 by 80 miles and I suppose somewhat like parts of Europe in population density but with more guns and cars. Still too spread out for public transportation so perhaps not as dense as Europe. Wide streets designed for full sized cars, not foot traffic. Think DC beltway in rush hour but for most of the day and many more miles of road.
Most places in the US are wired for phone and TV cable. In fact, many new homes in SoCal, not only have telephone outlets in every room, but also TV cable and cat 5 cable to every room. A closet will have all the wiring, an electrical outlet and 2 by 4 foot panel and floor space for mounting your choice of router, firewall, server or whatever. Older parts of the US, mainly the eastern part, were built many years ago and lack these features, somewhat like parts of Europe, I guess.
I know from first hand experience that VZ has good coverage from the Mexican border to mid state and plan to study this matter in greater depth. VZ claims to offer free local calls anywhere in California, something I have not tested. However, I have made calls from places 200 miles or so away to my home and the "roaming" charge was 15 cents or 30 cents, certainly modest compared to using the phone in motels or hotels. These calls lasted from a few seconds to a few minutes.
I am becoming very distrustful of the claims of "wonderful" roaming in Europe, due in part to the recent raids of European cellular operators over roaming price fixing and some feedback I have received from visitors to Europe. It appears that GSM and roaming may not be completely perfect yet, in spite of claims otherwise. |
