Mobile phone anxiety

In the ‘old’ days there were no mobile phones. When travelling you either had no communications device, a HF Radio maybe or a CB Radio by the 1970's. Most of the time you relied on passers-by for help along the highways and byways

I bought my first Mobile Phone in 1992. I think it was a Nokia and it was analogue. It was so big that it was difficult to carry in ones shirt or pants pockets. It had one or two ring tones and was easy to operate and its sound quality was good. The old Carry-Bag mobile phone had been around since the mid 1980’s but thankfully that gave way to a more modern device. In 1992 I went on a $10 plan and stayed there until the beginning of 2007 when a sweet voice on the other end of the line convinced me that I had to change to Next G and sorry but you will also have to be now charged a $20 plan. Yeah, OK, but how about a free phone seeing as I have been a Telstra customer since the days of Australia Post Office in the 1970’s.

So 3 Nokias and one Kyocera by Qualcomm later, I get a ZTE 850 for free. In the mean time we have gone from Analogue to Digital to CDMA. The ZTE is really inferior to my old CDMA phone, which now languishes silently in a cupboard. The buttons are too small, the way you need to work through a series of events by pressing buttons just to clear an item is silly, and the sound quality isn’t that good either. But it works and I have even had a signal along the Darling River near Tilpa.

I have never had a Hands Free Car Kit, extended aerial, whip aerial, Blue tooth or other gadgets, which usually go with these phones, as I do not need one. I seldom use the Mobile but it is handy to make a call when one is travelling. And phones are now such a part of our lives. I estimate that I have spent $30,000 in call charges and rental with Telstra since 1970.

With the advent of CDMA being switched off and Next G being cranked up there are any number of makes of phones on the market, each doing its own thing and each company spruiking its attributes. It would seem however, that all phones aren’t equal judging by the number of ‘phone’ posts here on the forum. 'Tis a worrying time for those who spend their lives on their mobile phones. What if I have no signal beyond a certain place? Will I be gobbled up by the denizens of that space, if I cannot get a phone signal? What if, what if, what if? You could always light a fire and send smoke signals.

Meanwhile the Telco’s are laughing all the way to the bank because we are all so gullible.


Cheers