In Other News ...

In Other News ... * The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has purchased CellMAPS and PCSMAPS from The Strategis Group. The GIS data products will help the FBI evaluate coverage by band/block, market or state. Strategis provided a tabular database of market ownership by cellular and PCS carrier as part of the sale.

* BellSouth International Wireless Services (BSI-WS) now allows North American-based travelers to roam with their digital phones in most South and Central America hot spots, as well as the Caribbean, without paying additional monthly fees. In 1998, BSI-WS launched roaming for its South and Central America subscribers.

* Correction: In the Nov. 1 Final View, Summitek was incorrectly described as a manufacturer of amplifiers. Summitek makes microwave test equipment for wireless applications.

Wireless Review's ongoing series of random calls to carriers determines how a customer might be treated and the accuracy of distributed information.

AIRTOUCH COMMUNICATIONS Total Hold Time: 0 minutes

Transfers/IVR Layers: 3

WR: My sister lives in Portland, OR, and I want to get her a phone for Christmas, but I live out of state, and I didn't know if it was possible.

CSR: OK. What kind of phone are you trying to get for her?

WR: She said she just wants a cell phone, but I think I want to get her digital.

CSR: OK. We don't just sell the phone by itself. It would be with a plan. And that just depends on what her use is.

WR: What I would like to do is set up the plan and pay the first month of service and set-up, and she would pay the rest, but I don't know if this is possible.

CSR: Yes, it is possible.

WR: I am guessing she needs about two hours a month.

CSR: Let's see what we have. (States plans.)

WR: Probably 80 minutes would be good.

CSR: That would come with a free phone. It is an Audiovox 502. It comes with a standard home charger and a battery.

WR: Is there a one-time charge each month if she uses roaming?

CSR: No.

WR: How about long-distance calls when she is in her coverage area?

CSR: That is the same as dialing from her home phone. It is 12 cents a minute peak and off-peak for long-distance. And that is in addition to the airtime. So if she went over her 80 minutes, she would pay 35 cents a minute plus 12 cents a minute.

WR: If I did want to purchase it, how would I go about it?

CSR: What we have to do is run a credit check. That would be on you. If you wanted, we can have her sent the bill. You can always change the billing address to where she is.

WR: How do I get the phone?

CSR: We ship it to her or you.

WR: If you do a credit check on me and then we want to change the address, would we be able to change it to her name?

CSR: You could switch it over at a later time. It is going to be put in your name at the start. You would complete a form and then you want to switch it over to her name and the customer-care department would be able to do that for her.

SPRINT PCS Total Hold Time: 0 minutes

Transfers/IVR Layers: 1

WR: My sister lives in Portland, OR, ...

CSR: Well, they could set up an account, but it would be billed to you, based on your credit. The other option would be to purchase an unprogrammed phone and then give her the phone and let her set up her own account under her credit. Those are your choices. Which would you prefer?

WR: I guess I will get her just the phone.

CSR: That is usually the good thing, then she can pick whatever plan she likes. What kind of phone you would like to get her?

WR: I know I want to get her a dual-band, but nothing outrageous. I saw some on the Web site for around $129.

CSR: There is a nice Qualcomm 2760 at $129, which is the one I would recommend for you at that price. That is nicer than Sanyo. It has better quality to it. (Requests information.) Did you want to hold on while I put this order in? It will just take a couple minutes.

(On hold for four minutes.)

CSR: Hi. I have everything in, it will be shipped out to you, and, by the way, there is a mail-in $30 rebate. I will send that with it, and you can do that yourself or give that to her, whichever you prefer. You should see it within three to five business days by UPS.

VOICESTREAM Total Hold Time: 0 minutes

Transfers/IVR Layers: 1

WR: My sister lives in Portland, OR, ...

CSR: Um. Wow. You can order handsets from our Web site. I am not sure how you go about doing that. Let me look it up and see if I can find that information. The address is www.voicestream.com. Let me see if I can get that for you. Apparently you are going to have to go through the options. It will be pretty clear. You have to find the buy on-line option. Um. It doesn't really say how you go about doing it. I guess at that point, if you just go to that address that I gave you, our Web site, and then, how did I get there? Let me think. OK, I went to ... the first thing I clicked on (was) products and services, and then I looked under phones and accessories, and then I clicked on buy on-line. And then at that point it will be pretty clear to you where you need to look to get that.

WR: Where I am confused is if I do buy the phone for her, do I have to buy the rate plan and everything right now, or can she just take the phone and set it up herself with her own rate plan at a store there?

CSR: That I am actually not sure about. I think you can just purchase the phone and then get a rate plan at a latertime. The Web site should educate you on that.

'Tis the season to go holiday shopping. So Wireless Review asked some industry analysts which devices likely will stuff the most stockings this year:

* "The door is open for another wireless device to take top honors from mobile phones as the best-selling wireless device during the holiday season: the Palm Pilot. Though this device won't transmit voice calls, what it does well is hold information and transmit and receive data. It comes in three flavors: the Palm III, a plain Jane PDA; the Palm V, a slimmed-down, souped-up PDA; and the Palm VII, which combines all of the abilities of the other PDAs and includes the ability to send and receive e-mail as well as access the Internet. Palms also are invaluable for managing schedules and information."

-- Ken Hyers, Cahner's In-Stat industry analyst

* "The Motorola StarTac has had sales growth year-on-year for some time and is still perceived as the 'one to have.' It is futuristic, has the ideal form factor and looks great. The device also is being heavily pushed by some of the larger players such as AT&T, which will drive sales. I also expect some strong sales from the new data-centric phones such as the Sprint PCS Wireless Web NeoPoint devices."

-- Andrew Cole, Renaissance Worldwide wireless-practice head

* "The hottest wireless-data device this holiday season should be the Palm VII. While it is not optimized for wireless e-mail messaging, the popularity of PDAs, combined with interest in wireless Internet access, should make it a winner. Strategis finds through its CellTRAC surveys that 68% of all wireless users use the Internet, and that 7% also have a PDA, making for a natural market for such a device. While new WAP-enabled handsets will also compete in this market niche, Strategis believes that the Palm VII lends itself more to a gift item than a wireless phone, thus making it the hottest-selling item this year."

-- Elliott Hamilton, The Strategis Group senior vice president