Why Verizon is losing more cellphone customers than ever

[Bigun]

They have great customer service and they always have people working that know the software and phones. Prior to them I was with AT&T because they were the only game in town in the early 90's. Still have my 3 watt bag phone I bought from them. Best damn phone ever.

Here is something interesting about the early cell phone days I ran across a while back. If you want to avoid the loud mouth introduction go to 2:14.....


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMQa9AgDmCU

My first cell phone was also a bag phone.  I don't still have it but can't recall EVER having a problem with it.

[Smokin Joe]

My first cell phone was also a bag phone.  I don't still have it but can't recall EVER having a problem with it.

I replaced the lead acid battery with mine and the handset, but could just plug in a directional antenna, raise it 35 feet, and hit a tower 40 miles away when I was working in Eastern Montana. It was great. I held out going to digital as long as I could, and the guy at AT&T LIED to me to get me to finally cross over. Analog was far more tolerant of background noise, and on an oil drilling location, that counts.

[Frank Cannon]

My first cell phone was also a bag phone.  I don't still have it but can't recall EVER having a problem with it.

That Motorola bag phone was clear as a bell and when I threw it up on the bar when I was out I got laid like an egg.

[Bigun]

I replaced the lead acid battery with mine and the handset, but could just plug in a directional antenna, raise it 35 feet, and hit a tower 40 miles away when I was working in Eastern Montana. It was great. I held out going to digital as long as I could, and the guy at AT&T LIED to me to get me to finally cross over. Analog was far more tolerant of background noise, and on an oil drilling location, that counts.

OH yeah!  There are tons of them for sale on Ebay.  Thinking about buying one and telling them I want it re-activated!

[Bigun]

That Motorola bag phone was clear as a bell and when I threw it up on the bar when I was out I got laid like an egg.

 

[ABX]

That Motorola bag phone was clear as a bell and when I threw it up on the bar when I was out I got laid like an egg.

Had the same one, and a 'brick' phone when I was very young. I remember carrying those in my back pockets (as in stretch and rip your jeans to fit) in the 90s.  I would not be surprised if it isn't in the garage somewhere. I really am not that old. I think my first installed car phone I got at 18.

[Frank Cannon]

OH yeah!  There are tons of them for sale on Ebay.  Thinking about buying one and telling them I want it re-activated!

I talked to some hipsters about 5 years ago who told me there used to be a way to reactivate and use them free of charge, but because there is no more digital signals open now you can't now.....or some such shit. I'm sure some tech nerd here would know if that was true or not.

[Frank Cannon]

I think my first installed car phone I got at 18.

You must have been loaded because I recall that I was a little shell shocked at the price but did it anyway after a bad winter hanging out the window talking to clients on pay phones after my pager went off.

Had a leased '91 Park Ave, a pager and a mobile phone. If I had a gold chain the cops would have arrested me for dealing.

[mirraflake]

That Motorola bag phone was clear as a bell and when I threw it up on the bar when I was out I got laid like an egg.

I still have mine down in the storeroom at the office. Bought it  91-92 ish??

[bigheadfred]

Is it, me? Yeah, must be. I wouldn't have a cell phone if they gave me one.

[ABX]

I talked to some hipsters about 5 years ago who told me there used to be a way to reactivate and use them free of charge, but because there is no more digital signals open now you can't now.....or some such shit. I'm sure some tech nerd here would know if that was true or not.

The 800mhz spectrum that all the old analog phones were on has been reallocated as emergency bandwidth. There are ways to make old phones work on them, but it is Anonymous level hacking.

[ABX]

You must have been loaded because I recall that I was a little shell shocked at the price but did it anyway after a bad winter hanging out the window talking to clients on pay phones after my pager went off.

Had a leased '91 Park Ave, a pager and a mobile phone. If I had a gold chain the cops would have arrested me for dealing.

Not loaded, but I remember I only had 30 minutes per month calling and it was expensive. I had the pager too (Teletac). If I drove 20 miles down the road, I was roaming and it was a buck a minute. I had a few 300 dollar phone bills (which for a teenager in the 90s was a fortune) that I had to work my ass off to pay for.

[bigheadfred]

The 800mhz spectrum that all the old analog phones were on has been reallocated as emergency bandwidth. There are ways to make old phones work on them, but it is Anonymous level hacking.

Can you remain anonymous anymore if you have a cell phone?

[mirraflake]

Is it, me? Yeah, must be. I wouldn't have a cell phone if they gave me one.

Not sure if you are serious?? My 81 year old dad collapsed getting off the tractor when his pacemaker went haywire. He had enough in him to hit the button to call me  but could not talk and I knew where he was .

Got 5 more great years with him before he passed.

It would have been hard on me to find him all blue and dead and grimaced.

@bigheadfred

[ABX]

Can you remain anonymous anymore if you have a cell phone?

Oh the stories I can tell from what I've seen.

The short answer is No! Not unless you are so very, very, very careful. Even if you buy 'burner' prepaid phones, you will eventually start to leave breadcrumbs. As soon as those trails intersect, any chance of anonymity is completely gone.

One of my clients is a big company in Arkansas called Axciom. They are basically a big data hub. Have you ever wondered why you may start thinking about something, say, getting a new privacy fence, and a few weeks later, start to see ads and getting catalogs for it even though you never actually searched or researched it yet? Their data algorithms are so good they can do predictive analysis on so many factors they know what you are thinking before you are thinking it.

And they are small fries compared to Google, Microsoft, and the other big players.

[Frank Cannon]

Not loaded, but I remember I only had 30 minutes per month calling and it was expensive. I had the pager too (Teletac). If I drove 20 miles down the road, I was roaming and it was a buck a minute. I had a few 300 dollar phone bills (which for a teenager in the 90s was a fortune) that I had to work my ass off to pay for.

That's why I kept the pager and almost never gave my number out unless it was a high dollar customer. Part of my schmooze for years was crossing out my office number and writing the cell number on my cards and telling them that they were special to have that.

It was a load of shit looking back at it but people ate it up.

[Smokin Joe]

You must have been loaded because I recall that I was a little shell shocked at the price but did it anyway after a bad winter hanging out the window talking to clients on pay phones after my pager went off.

Had a leased '91 Park Ave, a pager and a mobile phone. If I had a gold chain the cops would have arrested me for dealing.

Just tell them you're in real estate. 

[Smokin Joe]

Not loaded, but I remember I only had 30 minutes per month calling and it was expensive. I had the pager too (Teletac). If I drove 20 miles down the road, I was roaming and it was a buck a minute. I had a few 300 dollar phone bills (which for a teenager in the 90s was a fortune) that I had to work my ass off to pay for.

I worked a well up by the Canadian border. On one side of the shack I'd hit an American tower, about a quarter a minute. On the other side, I'd hit a Canadian tower at $4.95 (US) PLUS an additional roaming charge. I always checked the network before I made a call up there.

[Frank Cannon]

Just tell them you're in real estate. 

Nah. Once I got involved with that I started keeping a $500 car around and dressing like a homeless bum. If my tenants caught wind I had more than 2 nickles to rub together they would stab me.

[Applewood]

What turned me off with Verizon was a door-to-door salesman selling Fios.  I don't usually answer my door unless I'm expecting someone, but I happened to be outside when this guy caught me.  He claimed if I showed him my last Comcast bill, he could just about guarantee that Verizon could give me a lower price.  Ok, I'll bite.  So I dug up my last bill, showed it to him and of course, he had this fantastic offer.  So I asked him, how long is this low price good for and when it's over, what will my monthly charge be.  Well, he wouldn't answer. Kept going on and on about this fantastic rate -- and did he mention the offer encompassed a "bundle" -- tv, Internet and phone.  Now I had just discontinued a bundle with Comcast because it was outrageously expensive, so no way was I going to get a bundle.  But this guy kept on avoiding my questions and telling me that all my neighbors had signed on with Fios.  Told him I'm not a sheep and asked him to leave.

Shortly after, iI was  inundated with advertising from Verizon.  I suppose the company targeted anyone who rejected its "fantastic offer"  since up until this guy showed up at my house, I had received very lityle junk mail from Verizon.  Now I get junk mail from Verizon on a daily basis.  I've tried to get the company to stop, but it just sends me more.  So you couldn't pay me to sign up for anything Verizon.

[bigheadfred]

Not sure if you are serious?? My 81 year old dad collapsed getting off the tractor when his pacemaker went haywire. He had enough in him to hit the button to call me  but could not talk and I knew where he was .

Got 5 more great years with him before he passed.

It would have been hard on me to find him all blue and dead and grimaced.

@bigheadfred

Glad that worked out the way it did. But, Mirra, I don't want to be found.  I look at cell phones as a hindrance. A nuisance. A level of conditioning I don't want any part of. I can't stand to talk on the phone. Conversations are short and to the point. The last time I talked on a phone was to my mom around mid-March.

[Smokin Joe]

Glad that worked out the way it did. But, Mirra, I don't want to be found.  I look at cell phones as a hindrance. A nuisance. A level of conditioning I don't want any part of. I can't stand to talk on the phone. Conversations are short and to the point. The last time I talked on a phone was to my mom around mid-March.

Phone isn't so bad. It's texting I see as a trip back to little better than morse.

[roamer_1]

OH yeah!  There are tons of them for sale on Ebay.  Thinking about buying one and telling them I want it re-activated!

It won't run, believe me I tried. Different unsupported protocol. I had one of those mounted in my pickup with a fixed, permanent antenna... Best coverage I have ever had, and with a third of the towers here today. 5 watts compared to what, 100 mW in a handheld?

BUT, there is a solution... get one of the base-station cell phone models, mount it in the truck, and plug a standard wireless phone into it - So long as you are within 300m of the truck, the wireless phone will work, and those base units are 5 watts.

[Bigun]

It won't run, believe me I tried. Different unsupported protocol. I had one of those mounted in my pickup with a fixed, permanent antenna... Best coverage I have ever had, and with a third of the towers here today. 5 watts compared to what, 100 mW in a handheld?

BUT, there is a solution... get one of the base-station cell phone models, mount it in the truck, and plug a standard wireless phone into it - So long as you are within 300m of the truck, the wireless phone will work, and those base units are 5 watts.

Thanks!  If I were still working I would give strong consideration to doing it.

[bigheadfred]

Phone isn't so bad. It's texting I see as a trip back to little better than morse.

Exactly.

I can see the use of a cell phone from  the business end. But for your average cell phone user the phone doesn't pick the cotton. Slavery didn't end. It just changed its face. I am the sort who believes in the advancement of man. (I believe) Technology should relieve people of the burden of back breaking labor so they can pursue a higher learning, at least a better understanding of life. I don't see that happening. I see mindlessness. Stupidity. A different face of slavery. People that not only do not know how to pick the cotton, they don't even know what cotton is.