IMHO, the major reason there are so many holes in the American cellular networks is simple geography.
The United States is a pretty big place, and there are a lot of places where the population density simply does not justify putting a cellular tower of any sort, be it AMPS, CDMA, GSM, or TDMA. Certainly it would be economically impossible to build multiple towers for multiple cellular standards in rural areas.
Perhaps this is not true where you live? I don't know where that is, but maybe economics is not so important there?
The United States is also an increasingly suburban country. The service in our cities and close-in suburbs is really very good. Really. When I go into Philadelphia, I never ever have any trouble on either the AMPS or TDMA networks, depending on whether I am using my phone or my wife's. This opinion is tempered somewhat by AT&T's recently reported capacity shortages (but, like AOL's similar problems a few years ago, they will fix this.) But the farther out you go, the more Swiss cheese the coverage becomes.
I believe this is an indication of our affluence.
For instance, I think it perfectly normal that I get in my car every morning and drive forty minutes or so to my office. Except for a very brief time when I was working with my wife in her office three traffic lights from our home, I have never had a commute less than twenty-five minutes long. I have also never had a commute where public transportation was available. I have always commuted around (rather than into) the city, using secondary roads because those were the most direct way to go where I go. So, I consider holes in the system to be normal.
My understanding is that in Europe, where I have not been for more than 30 years, the American suburban lifestyle is not so common. This would, of course, make cellular coverage much simpler. Still, I suspect the coverage in Paris is better than in the middle of the Argonne.
This may be part of why I am more interested in GlobalStar than you are. Just a theory. |
