Re:US always behind in wireless? (Score 1)

I don't want to repeat what other posters have said before me, namely that 1) you _can_ get a fast land line in Europe and 2) that there's no such thing as a free local phone call.

Another thing I have noticed during my time in Europe and the USA is that European mobile phones are so much more advanced. I have a fairly cheap GSM phone, and it does a lot of stuff that none of my American mobile phones ever did, and it's smaller!

For example, when I turn on my phone it asks me for a passcode in order to use the phone account (a nice security feature that saved me when I lost my last phone). The phone account is encoded on an encrypted smart card that is inserted into the back of the phone. If I want to switch phones, I can drop my number into the back of a new one and go. My little smart chip also stores all the names and addresses in my address book. Those go with me, too.

GSM is digital, encrypted, and I don't have to pay to receive a call as long as I am in my home country. There's a small charge to receive calls when roaming. I can send text messages for a few cents to any other GSM phone in Europe, and receive them, too. I can even buy pre-paid chips to put into my phone, instead of receiving a bill each month.

Also factor in that it is cheaper to call a mobile phone _from_ a mobile phone than it is to call a mobile phone from a landline... and these are other compelling reasons why Europe is so hooked on mobile phones.

Americans are spoiled by free local telephone calls, afraid of per-minute charges, angered by having to pay to receive a call, scared stiff every time they read a story about some phone-stealing ring billing unsuspecting accounts, annoyed that their phone calls can be listened to by anyone with a brain and utterly bewildered by a huge number of non-cooperative "standards" when choosing to buy a phone. It's no wonder they're staying away. They should, until the market offers them something comparable in quality to GSM.

This feels a lot like the late 80's and early 90's when makers of high-speed modems were all competing to see who could make the standard that everyone else would be forced to support. I guess it was good for business, but it sure was horrible to be that consumer caught with the 14.4 modem that only connected at 14.4 when connecting to another one just like it.

- chatte