On 8/7/2012 9:20 AM, Owen Roberts wrote:
> Any current model cell phone should dial 911 without a active account.
> It was part of the FCC rules. Not that I'd want to depend on that.
> I have Boost mobile, and they have a 35$ a month account.
> I use their 50$ a month unlimited, runs on the Sprint backbone.
> I get good service everywhere but Florida, West Virgina and
> Cleveland, Ohio.
> Everything South of Cleveland is fine.
Boost's iDEN coverage (Nextel) is horrible (as is Nextel in general) but
now Boost is also offering CDMA service on Sprint's native network, and
it's a good deal. Unfortunately, Boost has the same coverage issue as
Virgin, you aren't allowed to use other carrier's networks, even at
extra cost. I don't understand why Sprint doesn't take advantage of a
revenue generating possibility and allow roaming at extra cost on their
prepaid services (well I do have an idea why they don't want to do this).
I recall being at the Anchorage airport in the mid 2000's and the guy
next to me on the curb was trying to make a call on his Nextel phone.
Alaska has no Nextel service in the entire state so he was out of luck.
He said he really needed a phone while he was in Alaska (on business) so
I suggested that he go buy a Tracfone at Walmart. Back then, TDMA and
AMPS were the dominant networks in Alaska and CDMA was available in
cities and towns, but not between them. I could use AMPS on my Verizon
CDMA/AMPS phone. AMPS coverage was a necessity because Alaska is so vast
and AMPS covers larger areas with fewer cells due to its higher power
radios.
