I hardly ever use my cell phone.

    Basically, I bought my cell phone so I could call for help if my car broke down, or call home if I was unexpectedly delayed, etc.  So I wanted to make sure I bought a phone that would *work* if some sort of problem or emergency were to occur.

    So, finding the best possible coverage was important to me.

    If you listen to advertisements by the various wireless service providers promoting their phones and plans, they'll say that the network is what's most important, and you want to make sure that you sign up with the *right* network.

    This sounds like a good idea ... Good network = lots of towers = a good chance that there's a tower nearby = successful call!

    BUT

    There's a different way of looking at the problem, based on the fact that cell-phones are capable of roaming (i.e. using the services of networks other than the phone's primary network).

    Since cell-phones can roam, the choice of which network you sign up with shouldn't have a major impact on the phone's coverage area (ideally!).

    Instead, what should be important is that you choose a technology that's widely available in the areas where you want to use the phone (e.g. TDMA/CDMA/GSM), and then choose one of the networks that uses that technology (and choose a phone model that supports all the frequency bands that are in use in your area).

          (Note: the choice of network could affect the costs, but that's a different
          issue. If two networks are involved - one to manage the billing and another to
          service a call - it's likely to be more expensive than calling without roaming.  So
          it still makes sense to choose a network that will minimize the need to roam, but
          this is a cost issue, not a coverage issue.)

    BUT

    The catch is, just because cell-phones are capable of roaming, it doesn't mean they will!

    There also need to be business agreements between the service provider who manages the billing for your phone and the networks your phone might need to roam to when you travel into areas where the primary network has poor coverage.

    This is where things get murky - when you're shopping and comparing phones, networks & plans, it's not always clear exactly what roaming capabilities a given phone will have.   There is more at issue than just the technical capabilities of the phone or the network technology - one needs to know something about the business arrangements that have been made between the different networks - information that doesn't tend to get widely disclosed to the consumer public.

    So, given my lack of knowledge about all these various business arrangements, my strategy was a simple one - to sign up with a virtual network operator that doesn't own *any* towers, but which has made business arrangements with the major players who do!

    I happened to choose TracFone, since I had heard something about them on the radio, but the same arguments might apply to other virtual network operators just as well.  It seems to me that a virtual network operator would be well motivated to provide good coverage by stitching together, as needed, the coverage areas provided by an assortment of wireless networks.

    Even though I haven't seen direct proof that a TracFone would be more "ready to roam" than, say, a phone signed up with one of the major carriers,  anecdotal reports that I've seen, certain comments in the TracFone user's documentation, and answers that TracFone technical support had for some questions I asked, all tend to suggest that a TracFone would perform well in the roaming department.

   A major carrier might feel tempted to program their phones to be a little less likely to roam and a little more likely to "keep the business in-house" to keep costs down and maximize profits.  On the other hand, a major carrier could sell you their phone, bundled with a contract that provides excellent roaming capabilities and which is priced accordingly.  There is a range of levels of roaming performance which are possible, and it's not always clear what you would get from any particular plan.

    In short, I think we cell-phone consumers would find it helpful to have access to clear descriptions of the actual roaming behavior that could be expected from various phones/plans/networks.

    This short article summarizes what I learned in researching my most recent cell-phone purchase, however, it still just scratches the surface of an interesting topic relating to cell-phone coverage.

    If you know of sources for more information on cell-phone roaming capabilities, please feel free to contact me, and I'd be happy to add some links to this page for such sources.


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