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To: edwin k. who wrote (21320)	1/14/1999 7:09:00 PM
From: Jon Koplik	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 152472

To all - cell phones and gasoline pumps do not mix well, apparently. January 14, 1999 Cell Phones To Be Banned at Pumps Filed at 5:17 p.m. EST By The Associated Press People do it everywhere -- pull into a gas station and take out a cell phone to make a call. But Esso, an Exxon Corp. subsidiary, wants drivers in Finland to make their calls far away from the pumps. Exxon itself is mulling over the idea on a company-wide scale. The problem is that some experts believe electronic impulses from a cellular phone could help ignite fires if gasoline or gas fumes are present. Now, that hasn't happened yet, but Esso would rather be safe than sorry -- so mobile phones will be prohibited at its stations in Finland by the end of the month and the ban may be expanded to other countries. Exxon spokeswoman Lynn Russo said she's not sure why the ban is being imposed in Finland first, but the fact that an estimated 56 percent of Finns have cell phones may have increased worries about the potential hazard they could cause. The ban is mandatory in Finland, but in other parts of the world, ''some of the affiliates are putting signs in the service stations,'' Ms. Russo said. The spokeswoman said Irving, Texas-based Exxon has not yet decided whether to also post signs banning the use of cell phones at stations in the United States. ''As far as corporate-wide, we're still looking at what we should do,'' she said. There has never been a report of fire sparked at a gas station because of a cell phone. ''Several years ago there was a report of that happening to a woman in Australia and then on further investigation it turned out she was smoking,'' said Tim Ayers, spokesman for the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association. According to experts, the impulses from mobile phones could theoretically cause equipment at gas stations to spark and ignite gas or gas fumes. Moreover, ''there has been talk, although no proof, that radios could interfere with wireless systems that are built into the pump. That is one of the concerns that has been raised over the last few years,'' said Norman Sandler, director of global strategic issues for Motorola, the largest maker of cell phones. ''We went through this with Shell in Europe a few years ago and we concluded that the radio signals did not pose any danger at gas stations,'' he said. Still, the possibility that a danger could be lurking at the pump has led to some rules. In Britain, cell phones are not to be used at gas stations, said Megan Matthews, a spokeswoman for Nokia, the second-largest cell phone manufacturer. That regulation is a leftover from the days of older technology when phones used up to 20 watts of power compared to today's that use about 0.6 watt. ''That rule still exists although a lot of gas stations don't enforce it,'' said Ms. Matthews. Cell phone manufacturers do warn consumers in their owner manuals not to use their phones while at gasoline stations. ''In the realm of physics it is possible it could happen. It's unlikely, but it's there,'' Ms. Matthews said. Some hospitals limit use of cellular telephones and other wireless communications for fear they would play havoc with lifesaving equipment. Also, airlines have forbidden the use of the phones on board the aircraft to avoid scrambling sensitive instruments. Copyright 1999 The New York Times Company

To: edwin k. who wrote (21320)	1/14/1999 9:32:00 PM
From: Drew Williams	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 152472

You are correct. The reason any cellular/PCS system has problems in remote areas is a lack of towers. The only way today to get around this is to purchase an Iridium phone, which uses satellites when the handset cannot find a cellular/PCS tower in the neighborhood. In nine months to a year or so, Globalstar satellite telephones (using QCOM CDMA) will be available much less expensively. In my home area, Bell Atlantic is converting its analog customers to CDMA as quickly as they can (actually, the customers are not being converted, its their phones <g>) and are hanging CDMA equipment on top of their existing towers.