Only people who live within 3 miles of a phone switching center can get DSL--and even then 40% can't be served because of the problems.
Each of Iridium's 66 satellites has its own phone-switching system, boosting coverage and performance at a cost of complexity and weight.
When Hurricane Irene hammered the Northeast in August, many cell-phone towers and switching stations lost power for long periods of time.
"Yes, it does matter, because people want choice, " says brand expert Robert Pasikoff of Brand Keys, who also noted that a current law that gives customers the right to keep their phone numbers when switching carriers makes it easier for them to bolt to Verizon or Sprint.
"Yes, it does matter, because people want choice, " says brand expert Robert Pasikoff of Brand Keys, who also noted that a current law that gives customers the right to keep their phone numbers when switching carriers makes it easier for them to bolt to Verizon or Sprint (nyse: S - news - people ).
But the threat is real, and as more consumers begin switching their phone service over, they're likely to face these problems.
Switching off phone chargers is like bailing the Titanic with a teaspoon.
This means that switching the phone charger off for a whole day saves the same energy as is used in driving an average car for one second.
Right now, Titans are commonplace in the central switching offices of phone networks across the country.
In her rearview mirror she could see the guy in the Range Rover glaring at her through his polarized sunglasses and switching his cell phone to the opposite hand so he could give her the finger, but she didn't dwell on his opinion of her for more than a moment.
Look at the old mandates that require the firms we used to call telephone companies to maintain their copper-wire phone lines and voice-call switching infrastructure.
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E-mails, text messages, photographs and other files relating to a particular person can all be accessed quickly through the phone's contact list, without switching laboriously from one application to another.
Much in the way the phone system migrated from operators hand-switching every call to users dialing directly, Intentional Software could let a marketing executive create the code needed for a product campaign with just minimal mediation from a programmer.
Not a single local friend of mine has a Windows8 phone (i bought one but will be switching the service BACK to my iphone).
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He joined Cyras in July after Menlo Partners, Cyras' biggest backer, decided the startup needed someone who could sell newfangled switching gear to old-fashioned phone companies.
And should a friend need to use your phone to Skype a buddy in Belgrade, account switching is now integrated into the main menu.
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Switching rose by 4 points for wireline phone and Internet providers.
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After building its business on making switching equipment that forms the backbone of phone and computer networks, Huawei is trying to become a business and consumer brand.
We sure wouldn't mind finding ourselves next year toting a single phone for both cell and VOIP calls, seamlessly switching from WiFi to cell towers, and having an all around good time.
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After how frustrated I got switching between Yelp and Google Maps on my phone just trying to find a good bar to watch baseball (and drink, obviously), I would have loved for all this travel advice to be in one trusted place.
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Even if you're not planning on switching carriers, though, the One is the best phone you can get right now on either network.
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Roth counters that the deal catapults Nortel ahead of its chief competitors -- number one phone equipment maker Lucent Technologies, and Cisco Systems, the largest Internet switching gear manufacturer.
In 1973 he cofounded Mitel, which pioneered electronic switching systems that allowed for operator-free PBXs and touch-tone phone sets.
As advertised, initial loading is quasi-instant, and navigation, zooming and tab switching seemed smooth as well, even on the two-gen-old phone.
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Globalstar's 48 birds act more like flying antennas, carrying calls to switching systems on the ground that are simple to operate and are linked into local phone networks.
Given that Windows Phone is all about the glance and go nature, having to spend a few moments thinking about switching the device on, or turning it and then switching it on, reduces the effectiveness of the software.
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But old style phone regulations often require network operators to maintain and expand obsolete copper wires and TDM (time division multiplexing) switching technologies.
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