cell phones

Commuters should study 4G coverage maps before signing up for Verizon 4G

adamg — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 12:43:45 +0000

Steve Berry reports his Verizon 4G wireless works as advertised when he's in a 4G coverage area, but that the problem is that his commute takes him into 3G territory and that's a problem:

When the 4G signal is low and a 3G is available, the device switches modes. This drops the existing connection and 3G takes 20-30 seconds to activate. If you happen to come back into a 4G area (signal level above the 3G value), it switches modes again taking another 30 seconds to establish an active link. In the 1 hour Worcester to Boston route, I used to lose 3G connectivity twice and lose about 2 minutes while the SSLVPN and MiFi resynchronized. Since moving to the 4G, I lose 30 minutes of the 1 hour commute due to continuous mode changes.

There is no ability to force the unit into 3G or 4G only mode. There is no standard for setting up a new connection before dropping an existing connection.

Three MBTA bus drivers face firing for cell-phone use

adamg — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 12:04:12 +0000

Caught yakking on their buses between runs, the Herald reports.

Do you agree with Dan Grabauskas's decision to ban cell phone but install new phone lines in employee hot-spots?

panda — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 19:27:52 +0000

MBTA installing new phones so workers can call home on breaks

adamg — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 18:02:43 +0000

The MBTA is installing 42 phone lines at key employee gathering spots as part of its total ban on employee cell phone use, T General Manager Dan Grabauskas told the Department of Public Utilities today.

Grabauskas said the new phone lines represent one of several steps the T is taking to ensure workers are reachable in an emergency. Grabauskas's comments came at a DPU hearing at which he asked the department to permanently enact the emergency ban put into effect after that May Green Line crash caused by a texting trolley driver.

In addition to the new phone lines, the T has a 24-hour emergency hotline family members can call if they need to get in touch with a T worker. Grabauskas said this has been used 100 times with just one case in which the employee was not reached "in a timely manner." The T now also conducts daily checks of radio equipment on both trains and buses, which he said show the systems work 98% of the time on trains and 95% of the time on buses.

We are committed to putting the necessary systems in place to allay any concerns Operators may have about their families and dependents contacting them in the event of an emergency while they are at work.

Grabauskas's DPU testimony.

Getting tough on cellular providers

adamg — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 03:13:52 +0000

Charley on the MTA writes it's past time the legislature did something about rapacious cellular companies ripping off consumers by locking them into overpriced, shoddy service:

... How cool would it be to actually have real, fluid competition in cell phone service? Unlock the contracts, and the companies will have more incentive to improve service. Someone else has a better/cheaper phone plan? Go with them! ...

Not so fast there, Peter Morin says. He argues service is just fine along major highways and such and that the real problem isn't cellular companies but obstreperous local boards in hoity-toity towns like Weston that refuse to let the companies put in enough cell towers because they're NIMBYs run amok:

... [T]he town of Wayland has been chastised by a federal court for its "fixed opposition" to wireless, been sued successfully a second time, and doesn't appear to have been chastened in the least. If you live in Sudbury and commute from Boston, either take the Pike to Natick or take Route 20 and listen to Howie Carr, because a phone call you will not make. ...