Cell Phone Services Anywhere, On Land Or Sea

Cell phone services are expanding to new frontiers. Thanks to improved technology and determined human effort, service is now available on cruise ships and in areas that don’t even have roads.

Norwegian Cruise Lines announced that beginning in the fall of 2004, passengers on it North American cruises would have access to cell phone services. To bring phones service to the high seas, Norwegian turned to Wireless Maritime Services, a joint venture of At&T Wireless and Maritime Telecommunications Networks.

When the technology is in place, cruise passengers will be able to make a receive phone calls in international waters. The service will be compatible with GSM phones that operate at 900 mHz and 1900 mHz. Passengers initially will be able to send and receive only voice and text messages. Work is underway to expand the cell phone service to include e-mail, data transmissions and sending pictures.

What will service at sea cost? According to Norwegian, customers will be billed by their regular cellular service providers at standard roaming rates.

While cellular service on a cruise ship is matter of convenience, in a remote Chinese county it might be a matter of survival. Cell phones recently became available in Medog, a county in the Tibet Autonomous Region. The county of 10,000 residents has no road connections to anywhere else in China. To bring cellular services to the area, workers had to travel by foot in the mountainous terrain to install cellular equipment. Fifty-four people subscribed to the new phone service the first day it became available.

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About The Author:

Wendy Whittaker is a successful author and regular contributor to http://www.1st-in-cell-phones.com. A cellular phone industry resource featuring articles, comparisons and reviews of cellular phone and service plans.

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Cell Phone Services Anywhere, On Land Or Sea