Some cell phone carriers including AT&T, Verizon Wireless and Alltel will be turning off their analog networks starting Feb. 19, 2008. It's the end of the nationwide network that launched the U.S. wireless industry 24 years ago. The Federal Communications Commission decided in 2002 to let carriers turn off their analog networks in 2008. The radio spectrum that is freed up will be used by more efficient digital technology. Up to a million older analog cell phones will lose service, but those are relatively cheap and easy to replace. The effects will be more seriously felt by people who have things that aren't phones but have built-in wireless capabilities, like OnStar cars.
Cars with OnStar made as late as 2005 may lose their service and can not be upgraded. Some burglar alarms use analog cell phones as their back up connection to alarm centers. In some houses without a land line, an old analog cell phones are an alarms only connection to the central monitoring station. For industrial users, things like automated electricity meter readers and truck fleet tracking devices need to be upgraded.
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