Analog vs digital

There are many different types of cellular phones. The most common type available to consumers is an analog service phone, which can be excellent for occasional use. Analog telephones are quite inexpensive and are often offered as a free incentive to sign up for service.

In the past several years, a new, improved options have emerged for cellular users: digital service. Digital service is more advanced in terms of communication, in that they offer better quality hardward, clearer transmissions and give users far fewer busy signals.

"A small business owner just getting into cellular phones now should almost certainly get digital service and not analog," said David Thomson, marketing manager at Bell Atlantic Mobile. "That's because that person will probably be using it quite a bit and not just for emergencies. Digital cellular service has better security and safety."

Digital phones, however, are usually more expensive and are not usually included with "free phone" deals. Bell Atlantic Mobile, for example, charges about $129 for a digital cellular phone and whatever service plan you choose is an additional cost.

Why Digital?

Many nationwide wireless service providers have a digital network in place or are at least in the process of trying to convert their cellular network to a digital network. The reason is digital presents many advantages over cellular, say proponents. The main benefits of digital include better quality of service, more security for the customer, and the ability to support next-generation services. Operators are looking to digital technology to help enable the whiz-bang services of tomorrow, like wireless Internet applications.

Digital is known to up the efficiency in the network, meaning an operator can fit more information into each transmission; that's why so many are now converting their systems to digital. For a wireless operator, this means that they can get more bang for their buck, or more juice from their network. Operators using digital would also be able to supply their customers with the hottest new services that were being talked about at water coolers everywhere. Some of these services include features that customers had already gotten accustomed to on their landline, or regular, phone, like wireless call waiting, as well as some messaging services.

Digital offers a better quality of sound. Proponents of digital claimed too that because digital scrambled up the signals into bursts, it was more secure than analog and can help thwart "cloning," an act of grabbing phone account information over the air in order to copy then resell that information for piracy purposes. By some industry estimates, close to $650 million in wireless services has been coveted by these big-eared crooks, which only adds onto the operator's bottom line a cost that is eventually passed on to the customer. Digital has stronger battery life than analog, and for the most part, better, more modern features on the phones: Think cooler "gadget" phones weighing in at 3.5 oz. that bring on visions of James Bond.

Why Analog?

However, digital has its detractors as well. Roaming may be more difficult using a digital based phone than an analog, some say. Since today there is no single accepted industry standard in digital technology and the technologies are incompatible, roaming--or using another wireless operator's network while traveling--may be difficult. Analog has better coverage than digital, and greater service availability. Plus, the initial cost for analog is usually cheaper than for digital, defenders say.

As you've probably noticed, price wars have already kicked off involving all wireless operators. In fact, in some areas, wireless operators are offering pricing plans that rival even landline services. The average monthly bill of a wireless customer has been slashed in half in the past decade, just shy of $40 from $95, according to the CTIA, and the cost per minute has dropped to an average of less than 20 cents from 60 cents 15 years ago. PCS operators may offer lower and lower prices because with more than five operators in some markets the competition in each market is steep. A digital phone itself, however, may cost more--be prepared to shell out close to $150 unless there's a promotion--or the upstart fees involved in digital service may be more than analog. Another area to note is the length of the contract that must be signed upon service activation; analog usually demands a longer term.

In the end, the customer must choose what will work best for his or her needs. But it's important to remember that the wireless company has just as big an incentive to keep you as you have in choosing them. With that in mind, it's still necessary to ascertain what future plans for wireless communication that customer has. If he or she will require data services, and if voice quality and security is of utmost importance, than it may be best to invest in a digital phone service plan. If roaming accommodations is a top priority, than signing up with a cellular provider may be the way to go. To cover all bases, inquire about dual-mode phones that talk digital but can offer service, via roaming, when out of digital territory--which may be pretty frequent. Most of those that have evaluated the two services say PCS services work especially well within a built-up metropolitan area and in pockets across the United States. Right now, cellular providers already have established nationwide coverage. And while the PCS wireless companies most likely have the sleekest phones from the most cutting edge companies, they have a lot of building to do to catch up to the coast-to-coast presence of cellular.