LATimes. New Web Site Rates Quality of Wireless Calls
Monday, September 20, 1999
HEARD ON THE BEAT: Technology
New Web Site Rates Quality of Wireless Calls
By ELIZABETH DOUGLASS
new Internet site will debut today that gives consumers
detailed information about the service coverage and call
quality offered by wireless phone carriers in major U.S. cities,
including Los Angeles.
The site, decide.com, is the first to provide
elaborate maps that outline spots where call quality or service
coverage lag for various wireless companies.
San Jose-based Decide.com collects the mapping data by
driving streets and freeways and placing calls repeatedly, and then
rating the connection and voice quality (good, poor, dropped or no
signal). Visitors to the site can hear the test calls if they have
computer speakers and the right software.
In Los Angeles, for example, drivers spent several weeks
covering about 9,000 miles and placing about 30,000 mobile
phone calls (one every 90 to 100 seconds), according to Roy
Prasad, chief executive of Decide.com.
Decide.com's Web site also includes information about
long-distance and prepaid phone services, as well as ways to
compare plan prices and phones. The company is independent
from any phone carrier, but it will receive commissions on services
sold via the site.
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