Mobility Guys #1
Show Notes:
Introduction
Welcome to the inaugural show of the Mobility Guys! This first podcast of many yet to come. Today’s show will revolve around the topic of choosing the right carrier for you and things you should consider before signing on the dotted line for a 1 or 2 year contract. (Don Sorcinelli was absent during the recording of this podcast due to teaching a training session in the Windy City, but will return to join us in some future episodes.)
Welcome to the first show
www.aximsite.com
www.bostonpocketpc.com
www.experiencemobility.com
www.mobilitysite.com
Other Links Mentioned:
- Coverage map of Cingular
http://www.cingular.com/business/voice_data_map - Coverage map of Nextel
http://www.nextel.com/services/coverage/index.html - Coverage map of Sprint
www1.sprintpcs.com/explore/coverage/CoverageOverview.jsp - Coverage map of T-Mobile
http://www.tmobile.com/coverage - Coverage map of Verizon
http://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/mobileoptions/nationalaccess/serviceAvailability.jsp - America’s Online Cellular Exchange Places
www.celltradeusa.com - Review of the Cellular carriers
thttp://www.ehow.com/how_1208_choose-cellular-phone.html
Summary of show:
- Weigh pros and cons
- Make a list of your own criteria
- Match carriers with friends and family
- Look over the contract
- Check coverage area
- Research other peoples experiences
- Look for business discounts
- Ask for final monthly price (after taxes and fees) it may be more than you can afford as well as the cost of penalties for overages.
Government and Military discount via Telecommunications act of 1996
All Federal Employees and Military Personnel are entitled to a discount on their cell phone service according to the Federal Telecommunications Act of 1996. The discount is not advertised so you have to call and ask for the discount by calling the following cell phone companies and referring to the Fed Tel Act, and they will implement on the spot:
- CINGULAR- 19% Discount - 800-319-6393.
- T MOBILE- 22% Discount - 866-646-4688. You will need to request a migration form from the website given.
- SPRINT- 15% Discount - 1-888-322-3961. This will transfer your account into a corporate account.
- NEXTEL- 18% Discount - 800-639-6111.
- VERIZON- 17% - 866-456-7892. You will be asked to fill out a form and fax back.
Terms and Terminology Used
1XRTT - aka CDMA 2000 1xRTT (One Times Radio Transmission Technology), data transmission at 30Kbps to 70Kbps the default data platform for both Verizon and Sprint.
AKU 2.0/MSFP - Windows Mobile 5 AKU (Adaptation Kit Update) 2.0 will deliver MSFP (Messaging and Security Feature Pack) which in combination with Exchange Server Service Pack 2 (SP2), provides an enhanced end user messaging experience called “push mail”, better performance, and several key device management capabilities when deploying a mobile messaging solution.
ARPU - Average Revenue per User- Measures the average monthly revenue generated for each customer unit, the higher the better for the carrier. These are add-ons to your current plan like extra minutes, text messaging, data plans, family plans, access to content, etc
CDMA -(Code-Division Multiple Access) - Sprint and Verizon use this technology works by taking advantage of every channel in the full frequency spectrum via spread-spectrum techniques.
EDGE - (Enhanced Data GSM Environment), at 75Kbps to 150Kbps - Current Carriers T-Mobile and Cingular
EvDO - (Evolution data Optimized)carried by CDMA based carriers like Verizon (180 Metropolitan areas) and Sprint (219 Metropolitan areas).Claimed download speeds vary from area to area around 400Kbps to 700Kbps, Sprint has announced plans to upgrade to EvDO Revision B an with only a slightly increase in download speeds and uplinks will more than double to an average of 300K to 400Kbps from EvDO upload speeds currently at 70K-144Kbps.Theoretically it could achieve burst speeds of 14Mbps. Both companies are ramping up for near nationwide coverage by the endo of 2006 or mid-2007.
EvDV - (Evolution Data Voice) will increase performance and balance upload and download speeds more evenly to work in unison with EvDO
GSM/GPRS - Cingular, some Nextel(mostly uses iDEN), and T-Mobile use this technology data transmission via GPRS is at 30Kbps to 60Kbps it works by assigning assign a specific frequency to each user.
iDEN - (Integrated Digital Enhanced Network) always on technology, which provides the fastest and most efficient push to talk (PTT) service via (Direct Connect®).
IMS - (IP Multimedia Subsystem), software to switch users between networks
MVNO - (Mobile Virtual Network Operator)- some examples Virgin, Boost Mobile, Amped Mobile, Disney, Eartlink,etc
SIM card - small card that has minimal storage of contacts and Carrier subscriber details and security information and configuration.
SMS - (Short Message Service) The transmission of short alphanumeric text-messages(160 alpha-numeric characters max) to and from a mobile phone and/or IP address or email address.
UMA- (Unlicensed Mobile Acess) allows a handset to connect over a wireless IP connectionto access IP-based voice, data and IMS services offered by wireless carriers. So far only T-Mobile has made mention of moving to this technology, but many are hedging Cingular will do so as well.
UMTS/HSDPA - (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System/High Speed Downlink Packet Access) wireless data service now being offered by Cingular in select Metropolitan areas. They are the first GSM provider to migrate to this 3G specification with sustained download speeds as high as 1.1Mbps by the end of 2006. T-Mobile has no current 3G service yet but promises a fast ramp-up in 2007 leaning towards HSDPA.
VPN - (Virtual Private Network), some carriers have seperate data plans to enable secure connections
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