covert%covert.DEC@decwrl.dec.com (John R. Covert) (06/07/89)
>Does Beijing have cellular telephone service? Most certainly. And not just available to the government -- it really is there for the use of the foreign business community. Beijing was really trying very hard to be a modern city. I agree that it is amazing that the phone service was not shut off, but it's equally amazing that essentially all international long distance service is still working normally. >Just how worldwide IS cellular telephone service implemented? I didn't >think it even was available all over Europe yet. We Americans tend to think we've got the best of everything, but we're often wrong. Cellular phones are much more common in some European countries (Sweden in particular) than here. And in many cases the systems are much more fully developed and quite sophisticated. The NMT-900 system operating in the Nordic countries works automatically in all four countries. Even for incoming calls, with no nonsense with "roamer ports." Germany's C-Netz (which I used during a recent trip) operates almost all over the country, even in some fairly rural areas. No matter where I was in Germany, I could be called from all over the world on the same number. Incoming calls were at no cost to me. The system in the U.K., which uses the same hardware as the U.S. system, but different software in the phones, is likewise a nationwide integrated system. In the 1990s, Europe is supposed to introduce a new pan-Europe system which will work no matter where you are in Europe. Cellular users in the U.S. can hope that our regulators will get their heads out of the sand and allow our systems to connect together by then. (We just got Follow-Me-Roaming here in Boston, and I refuse to use it, because NYNEX Mobile has decided to charge local airtime in addition to the long distance call and roamer airtime. Fortunately, I have a computer at home that can transfer callers to the roamer port.) The following table lists countries with cellular systems. The protocol used in the U.S. is "AMPS." Theoretically, a U.S. cellular user would be able to use his phone in any of those countries. In fact, local regulations often do not permit you to even bring your own phone into many countries. I do know that American visitors can sign up to use their own phones in the following countries: Bahamas, Bermuda, Canada, Cayman Islands, Hong Kong, Netherlands Antilles, St. Kitts & Nevis, and Zaire. American Samoa AMPS American Samoa Government (PTT) Argentina AMPS Companie de Radio Commun. Mobiles (CRM) Australia AMPS Telecom Australia (PTT) Austria NMT-450 PTV Bahamas AMPS Bahamas Telecomms Corp. Belgium NMT-450 PTT Bermuda AMPS Bermuda Telephone Co., Ltd. Brazil AMPS British Virgin Islands AMPS CCT Boatphone Canada AMPS Cantel (A) or Local Telco (B) Cayman Islands AMPS Cable & Wireless China (PRC) TACS/NMT PTT Denmark NMT-450/900 PTT Dominican Republic AMPS Codetel Finland NMT-450/900 PTT France Radiocom 2000 PTT NMT-450 Hong Kong AMPS & TACS Hutchison Radio TACS Hong Kong Telephone AMPS-type Chinatel Iceland NMT-450 PTT Indonesia NMT PTT Ireland TACS-900 PTT Israel AMPS Motorola Tadiran Italy RTMS SIP Jamaica AMPS JTC Japan NAMTS NTT & others Kenya AMPS Kenya PTC Kuwait NAMTS PTT Luxembourg NMT-450 PTT Malaysia NMT-450 JTM Mexico AMPS DGT Netherlands NMT-450 PTT Netherlands Antilles AMPS East Carribean Cellular, N.V. New Zealand AMPS PTT Norway NMT-450/900 PTT Oman NMT PTT Panama AMPS Philippines AMPS 1) PLDT 2) Express St. Kitts & Nevis AMPS CCT Boatphone Saudi Arabia NMT PTT Singapore AMPS The Telecommunications Authority South Korea AMPS Korea Telecomms Authority Spain NMT-450 La Co. Telefonica Nacional de Espana Sweden NMT-450/900 PTT Switzerland NMT-900 PTT Taiwan AMPS Thailand AMPS CATS NMT-450 TOT Tunisia NMT-450 PTT Turkey NMT-450 PTT United Arab Emirates TACS PTT United Kingdom TACS-900 1) Cellnet 2) Vodaphone Venezuela AMPS CANTV West Germany C-Netz PTT Zaire AMPS Telecel
sp@pro-palace.cts.com (Sten Peeters) (06/10/89)
I know that several counries in Europe have full Cellular phone service.
I get some magazines from there and they have add's for cellular phones.
Sten
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