Exactly!
Posted on 09/30/2014 10:44:32 AM PDT by Utilizer
They did. So do the new ones — offered as a service called enhanced push to talk.
What kind of phone do you have, and what kind do you want, and why? (asking because you sound like an expert)
I’m in the worst of bandwidth worlds. The neighborhood I’m in won’t let us install Time Warner or AT&T, but provide WiFi that’s down 80% of the time, so I use the hotspot on my G2 for my laptop’s internet access.
And because I’m in the hills, it’s slower than dial-up! Good thing there aren’t any hurricanes to track.
Push to talk has been around forever.
T-Mobile apparently doesn’t use the towers now. At least based on my reception outside of FL.
My T-Mobile service is sincerely messed up for the last few days. My phone hotspot kills my laptop off every ten minutes.
I am a mobile geek, so I have several ...
iPad retina
iPhone6+ will arrive tomorrow
Samsung S5
Samsung MEGA.
I like HTCs but they break too much. LGs are just kinda boring.
For poor coverage areas, IF you have good internet service via cable or DSL, then get a microcell. A microcell is a personal/home cell tower that looks like a router but provides good cell service in your home. It plugs in to your home internet.
We have a cabin in the mountains of NC and SOMEHOW we can get decent DSL service but 0 regular signal strength on cellular. So we put in a microcell and have 5 bars!
Hope this helps.
“You’ll be able to get your service contract directly through the NSA.”
Not a bad idea. We are already paying for the service.
I wonder how long it’ll be before Sprint offers this/sarc ;)
Thank you very much! I sensed you were the right guy to ask.
Sprint has been doing their for years. Their “Push To Talk” feature was a godsend on job sites and on commercial sites, all the sub contractors had them. Made life so much easier. However, they would ONLY connect to other Sprint Push To Talk devices.
Cell phones are transceiver’s and towers are repeaters.
CB’s with privet channel well almost NSA hears you.
Whoever is closest and has an up internet connection, I would imagine.
Considering that I live in a very rural area, you make a valid point indeed.
Exactly!
I really do not see the need for a ‘walkie-talkie’ function for an expensive smartphone when I can purchase a similar unit (walkie-talkie) even for on the CB bands for much less than the price of a cellphone.
MUCH less than that.
Not on the cellphone bands, luvvie.
“IF” they can ever get the bugs worked out of the technology over the powerline communications will be the future in communications. Telephone, Internet, and electrical power all from one grid. The big “IF” though is just that an “IF”. It’s been in research for a long time now.
Not sure if that will ever take off, really. Power lines are incredibly noisy. With lightning strikes, RF hash, and power surges due to industrial machinery and line breaks, there are many problems inherent with attempting to utilize them in this manner. Add in the limitations when you step up the line voltages to the KV range for long-distance transmission and then stepping it down again for regular usage puts a huge inductive load on the entire system, limiting the available bandwidth even further.
Not a small set of problems to overcome.
It's fixing to change and AT&T is in the process of going out of the residential land line business likely in a decade or less in many areas. They will still likely provide cell tower trunking systems and Data Circuits though.
I'm thinking lower orbit birds may be more likely. Get them to where you don't get latency issues seen in ones in the Clarke Belt and it can be workable. The system in the article would strictly be for when you are at Wally World etc or at home.
Comes free with LTE. Handy in fringe areas.
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