U5434122@ucsvc.ucs.unimelb.edu.au (11/09/89)
> Here in the UK we are seeing the launch of a low-ish cost alternative > to cellphones: a roaming cordless phone. The technology is referred > to as 'CT2'; brand names of Phonepoint and Zone Phone are being > promoted. > A limitation is that you can't take > incoming calls; a pager may be used to get round this. > {My employer has an interest in one of these ventures, although I'm not > working in any connected area. From the advertising, "our" handset > (Phonepoint) looks to be half the bulk of the other one, so it looks like > we can expect to *stuff* the competition once again!} I read about this in a magazine a while ago. After pondering the question of receiving calls for a few days I came up with the following possible solution: Each phone comprises telephone AND pager, with an LCD display. An incoming call is handled by paging the phone with the number of the caller. This can be automated by Caller-ID. The owner of the CT2 phone then finds a Phonepoint and tells the phone to call the number which the pager function received. OR, the pager displays an 'incoming call' message, possibly with ID, and the user moves to a Phonepoint to accept the call. Callers would have to be warned that it may take a couple of minutes before the call is answered. If the Phonepoint density were high enough, however, it would be workable. This really boils down to a cellular network with very small cells which do not overlap at all. How many channels can the CT2 phone operate on? This determines the number of lines available at a given phonepoint, I guess. Even if the above is not implemented, a combination pager/CT2phone might interest manufacturers / purchasers of these phones. Danny U5434122@uscvc.unimelb.edu.au ( University of Melbourne )