This article today posted on TMCnet is interesting: http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/-digital-cell-phones-analog-federal-communications-commission-fcc-/2005/jul/1166816.htm because it mirrors and experience that I've had fairly recently.

Two years ago, I bought an all-digital phone, replacing my old phone, which had analog capabilties.

My parents live part-time in the mountains of South Central Vermont, up a dirt road, past a charming old inn, take a left at the little white church. (Sounds like all directions in Vermont.) With my former cell phone, I had few problems getting a signal. Some days were weaker than others, but I always had the ability to make a basic connection.

With the digital phone, forget it. Not a hint of a signal. Nada. When I arrive at the house in Vermont, I turn the phone off and toss it in the glove compartment. It becomes a paperweight for the weekend. My mother's cell phone still has analog capabilities; my parents rely on it for their primary phone coverage, since Vermont telecom prices are criminally high. I haven't yet had the heart to tell her about the FCC's initiative to move all-digital, at which time she'll be back in the realm of $60 land line phone bills, just to have a dial tone on the wall.

Has the FCC forgotten that most Americans live in rural areas?

TES