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Weekly UpdatesGENERATIONS
They have been walking from the beginning, through the foggy sponges of lowland forests, under umbrella leaves, in the shattered rain of ocean beaches, through the tinder of ashpits, the thickets of cities, along washes and ravines and the dust of dry creek beds.
--Pattiann Rogers, from the book "Generations" (2004, Penguin Books)
Life before cell phones is a faded memory, if a memory at all for most Alaskans. There was a time when they were big, bulky, expensive and a novelty.
Early cell phones, in this part of the world, almost all packed the Motorola trademark. They were analog and these dinosaurs radiated a full 3 watts of power. If there was a cell within range, they could talk to it. Fishing boats along the coastline within a few miles of the limited number of cells, and businesses in cities that hosted a cell, were the first to crawl out of the tar pits and embrace the new technology. Bulky interfaces allowed dial-up connections to the embryonic Internet. But, the coverage was spotty, cellular even. Like that meteor that changed the course of the world millennia ago, the cell phone has changed the way we live our lives, do business and just keep in touch.
THE BIG BANG
When the great ice mountain split its continent and became two, they were walking. When smoke from the burning plains blinded the western seas, they were walking. They walked by dead reckoning on steel, on ropes, over swales and fens, on pearls.
--Pattiann Rogers, from "Generations"
The name cellular may be a bit passe today, as the name gives way to simply "cell" or "wireless." The Federal Communications Commission describes the concept of cellular service as: "Licensees use cellular radiotelephone service (commonly referred to as cellular) spectrum to provide a mobile telecommunications service for hire to the general public using cellular systems." Cellular telephone services were largely adopted in the early 1980s. The subsequent worldwide ringing and the technology that supports it exploded beyond the FCC's earliest predictions, forcing a revisit to those rules just more than two years ago. In the rulemaking, the commission acknowledges the technologies used by carriers to provide cellular service have changed radically. New technology makes it possible for cellular service providers to increase the capacity of their systems; to offer better quality service, advanced calling features, enhanced reliability and privacy; and to compete increasingly with the wireline telephone network.
Early entries into the world of cellular built their names around the technology and as new players evolved, the naming is no longer "cell"-based. Only a few companies hold claim to the convention built around cellular. The expanding technology, flexibility, and the ubiquitous service have resurrected the Marconian term wireless. Let's not confuse this with cordless or a World War II HF radio. Today's wireless is small, fits in a pocket or purse, and is multifunctional.
The cells have become corridors and nary a population center, highway or byway is not covered.
The early rules mandated compatibility. Now there are three major digital technologies employed in cellular networks: Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), and Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM). The general problem facing the industry is: Handsets employing only one of the technologies cannot be used to access systems of carriers employing different digital technologies. Handsets capable of operating in analog mode will generally be able to access service in most markets in the country. However, the analog requirement is scheduled to sunset in 2008. All those brick, flip and bag phones saved for an emergency will join the ranks of the Woolly Mammoth.
NEW LIFE
They passed through congregations of meteors, through knots of flies, and howling tangles of hungry winds. When they were sleeping on moss, they were walking. When they lay broken, tom and still on the field, they were walking. They were walking when the sun gathered together the tightening strings of its slack, when the sun dissolved into the withering circle of its power.
--Pattiann Rogers, from "Generations"
The big country of Alaska is home to a lot of cell phones. While exact numbers are not available, thanks to the competitiveness of the industry and the nature of publicly held companies--and if my math is close--nearly half of all Alaskans own a cell phone. Mary Ann Pease of ACS tells Alaska Business Monthly that her company passed the 100,000 mark in the fourth quarter of 2004. "The momentum and the economics of the business are compelling: Within the final quarter of 2004, we grew the number of wireless subscribers by 5.4 percent," she says.
Dobson Communication's Craig Davis says CellularOne has more than 1.6 million customers in 16 states.
Both ACS and CellularOne cover the majority of the state. Add in the smaller providers, and the numbers in Alaska become fairly impressive.
The numbers make the next generation of technology possible. This past year, ACS deployed CDMA and CellularOne migrated to GSM, driving advances in product lines. New phones with more features are available and the rate plans across the state have become more competitive.
Alaskans keep the providers ever alert to the latest and greatest technology. Our sources concur that the biggest demands in wireless are availability and data. The cell phone gives us the opportunity to keep in touch on the go, from planes, trains and automobiles. To qualify, that currently means only while the planes are on the ground. The original governance of these handy conveniences specifically forbade their use in airplanes. This regulation has more to do with licensing than with interference with the plane's navigation. It's a scary thought to think a plane's avionics are not protected enough to ward off a stray signal from a cell phone or Game Boy. The use of cell phones in private aircraft is an everyday occurrence. However, perhaps the only escape from third-party involvement in someone else's phone conversation is aboard an in-flight commercial airplane. (Cellular manners and protocol are topics for another issue.)
Alaska is also a mature market. The demand for replacement with newer phones is as strong as it is in the rest of the U.S. Manufacturers churned out a record 194.5 million units in the fourth quarter of last year, according to In-Stat Wireless Research (www.in-stat.com). The company says world phones and in-flight wireless voice and data services are two key growth areas for the global wireless industry over the next few years. World phones, which allow easy roaming between international cellular networks, are key fixtures in the mobile-handset industry. Even though Alaska is a major international marketplace and corridor, the world phone has yet to debut in the state. Roaming agreements are in place throughout the Lower 48, Canada, and now, parts of Mexico, but it ends there.
THE FUTURE, NOW
An old dog trailed them off and on, and flocks of ricebirds and their shadows rose up and scattered before them. Herds of holy caribou and hosts of preying wolves disappeared ahead of them over the snowy hills. They were walking with ghosts, with choirs of grasses and armies of stars. They walked through the words let there be light more than once. They were walking with chronicles of chains. They walked beyond the headwaters of the moon.
--Pattiann Rogers, from "Generations"
Last year, the hottest consumer item on the market was the camera phone. Andrea Gilbert, spokesperson for Alaska Telecom Inc., tells us the camphone is the norm now. "Our customers want BlackBerry," she says.
Research in Motion is considered by many to be the leading designer, manufacturer and marketer of innovative wireless solutions for the worldwide mobile communications market. RIM's portfolio includes the BlackBerry wireless platform. The BlackBerry is primarily a business phone that provides wireless e-mail and data. Famous for its Qwerty keyboard, thumb-operated trackwheel, easy-to-read backlit screen, intuitive menu-driven interface, and integrated software solutions; it is more bulky than a conventional cell phone. Newer models now feature the SureType technology and Bluetooth.
Service from ACS provides fast, mobile data transmission speeds with peak data rates comparable to DSL service, says Pease. The new CDMA technology affords improved voice clarity and greater coverage, and a variety of productivity tools. Personal digital assistants and smartphones, such as the Harrier PPC 6600, combine the tools of the office to the cell phone in or out of the office.
With an aircard, the businessperson on the go can have a phone and data, too. That is, plug the aircard into the computer and it connects directly to the Internet via the cellular network and the phone is free to, well, talk on.
ACS promises peak speeds of 144 kilobits per second to 2.4 megabytes per second, depending on the user's location in the ACS network.
It is not all work and no play for the business phone on the market today. After all the pictures have been taken and sent, e-mail checked, business memos proofed and communicated back to office, and the latest stock prices are reviewed; check over your shoulder and pop into a game. Craig Davis tells us games are becoming a favorite addition for even the busiest tycoon. News and sports packages are a must have, as well.
THE FUTURE, JUST OVER THE HORIZON
And people saw them coming and people saw them passing, and their walking was constant, unmoving, invariable, and the seeing of the people was ever present, immutable, liberation.
--Pattiann Rogers, from "Generations"
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