4. Conclusions

Wireless public voice and data networks aren't all that complicated, but they, the wireless phones used on them and voice and data plans offered are far from perfect. Here are some suggestions for improvement.

First, everyone involved in the wireless telecommunications business should promote uniformity in application support. This will allow data services to work much better than in the past. For example, all GPS services for wireless phones should work on all phones with GPS devices. That means standardizing both phone GPS hardware and supporting software, but it ends the confusion that almost always occurs when a subscriber wants to use a nicely enhanced third party GPS service that doesn't work on his or her phone, but rather works on two or three models of a particular phone manufacturer's wireless phones.

Second, SIM cards should be standardized and, in so far as possible, should be backwards compatible with earlier versions, meaning they are compatible with earlier phones. Often, a change in phones means a change in SIM cards, which means an extra step in moving contacts from one phone to another and an extra step in activation. Many vendors transparently switch SIM cards when a subscriber upgrades to a new phone, but rarely do they check compatibility issues and this can cause some serious problems.

Third, carriers spend too much on repairs of perfectly operational towers. It would be much better if they built new ones instead! Sprint shouldn't have to spend $2.6 billion in one year to repair and "enhance" its network. Instead, the bulk of that money should be spent on network expansion. Additionally, wireless networks and phones should be better designed to handle transitions as phones move from the operating area of one wireless tower to that of another.

Fourth, it should be possible to buy different services from different carriers. In other words, it should be possible to buy the best home and away coverage possible, even if home coverage is provided by one carrier and away coverage by another carrier. Also, the purchase of voice and data services should be separated. AT&T provides the best voice services in my community and Verizon provides the best and fastest data services, I should be able to contract with the two companies for those services and they should work fine on my phone, never mind that AT&T phones are GSM compatible and Verizon phones are Code-Division Multiple Access (CDMA) compatible. Sure all of this will require a revolution both in the design of wireless phones and networks along with a change in the way carriers perceive the wireless business, but think of the competition and improvement is services such an approach might bring.

The four improvements I recommend just above are unlikely to be implemented soon. So, what's a public wireless services customer to do? Well, when deciding to purchase a wireless phone and service from a particular carrier, ideally, there are at least three different types of people you should talk to. The first is at least one customer of the carrier. Find out what they think about their phone and carrier in general and how well the service works. Next, and this may be difficult, talk to a customer service representative who can tell you the "gotchas" you have to watch out for and ensure you are ready to deal with the carrier and the phone. Last, find a store that sells phones and services offered by the carrier and talk to a store representative about coverage.

You can also use the Internet to evaluate carriers, phones and services. This is a good unrushed way to compare the coverage provided by different carriers. You can also get access to contracts and the small print you need to assure a wireless purchase isn't a total rip-off. You may have to put a phone and wireless plan or plans into your shopping cart, but that will get you what you need. Also, there are a number of legitimate websites that offer evaluations of wireless carriers, services and phones. Take what you read with a grain of salt. These sites are sometimes biased by advertising commitments or the experience of those who provide evaluations.

Finally, remember: The real battle for public wireless market dominance today isn't about plans, phones or services. It's about coverage.