Can You Here Me Now?…No?…Crap!

So have you been seeing these commercials about “TV’s Switch to digital”…ya me too, but this is much, much bigger. Just ask the thousands of Onstar Clients, and Cell Phone Users in rural areas come February.

For years there has been a huge push to go all digital, and vicariously to get rid of the analog band. Heck even Am/Fm are getting into it as they try to regain some of the ground lost to satellite radio. But with cell phones the conversion date is much sooner, much more abrupt, much less deliberately planned out, and in the end will hurt service for hundreds of thousands.

The date is February 18th of this year,….yes next month…. On that date providers can begin shutting down their analog networks at any pace they see fit. It could be gradual to insure enough digital service can fill the gap, or FLICK! Your screwed.

Cell Phone wise this affects rural customers the most. I think of a friend of mine that lives in the Berkshires of Western Mass who intentionally sets his phone to roam on analog because its the only way he can get a signal good enough to make a call. He is screwed, no two ways about it. Now there is the argument that without the heavy analog singles in the air digital service will improve because it is less constrained, again this doesn’t apply if your in an area that has no towers. Lastly those heavy analog singles come in handy during storms too.

Its not just cell phones that this is affecting but also any service that rents usage on the same networks. Services like OnStar, and GPS devices.

But thats not even the worst one, the worst one affects some of the most vulnerable people in our society: The Elderly. All of those push button first response systems unless hard wired run on analog signals.

So please for your convenience, your safety, and the safety of those you love check out the websites of all wireless devices you use and even call the companies if you have to. This change over WILL happen but you shouldn’t be caught by surprise and without a plan.

***A correction was made to the post to exclude the Lojack Car Security system as it has come to my attention and i have since confirmed that it operates on a totally different band.

I learn Something New Every Day

Did you know that Porsche and VW are not the same company? I sure didn’t. I had always assumed that when the original Mr. Porsche invented the car that would become the Beetle that hence forth the two company’s were imprints under the same corporate structure, similar to the the relationship of the various brands under GM.

However it seems I am dead wrong. It would appear that though the two companies are linked in that the Porsche family has been trying to hostilely increase its control of VW, but they are in fact two different companies. All that stands in their way is an obscure German law from 1960 that is very anti-open market.

It is no secret that VW has been in decline for some time. Yes the return of the Beetle has helped stall the decent but thats it. Mean while Porsche is a very well run company that is a consistent money maker. I do hope the Porsche wins out and they are able to revive the brand, especially here in the States.