In which it's the network

You've heard of road rage, well this is a story of phone rage...

Once upon a time, trek worked for a big, international, trading house. While there, trek worked on a lot of different pieces of software all designed to provide investors with the opportunity to buy and sell investments through the Internet. It was a golden time for these here Interwebs!

Shortly after starting, trek was assigned the task of developing trading software for cell phones. Yes, cell phones! Think back to late 1999/early 2000. Most cell phones which were available then had a (very) limited display. The project requirements included using no more than 18 characters per line. Cell phone displays were so tiny that most phones could show only three lines of text.

Did trek have a cell phone to usher in Y2K? Nope, just programming for them.

Along about the middle of the summer, Number Guy and trek decided to invest in cell phones. Working during the day and going to graduate school at night increased trek's need to be able to reach out and touch someone. They selected a carrier and a plan and they were just a phone call away no matter the miles which lay between them.

Fast forward to 2004...

Number Guy and trek became dissatisfied with their carrier's pricing policies and shopped for a new carrier. The new plan was both cheaper and better and they were pleased.

Fast forward to 2010...

The current carrier is going to be fired - as soon as the current contract expires. Why?

Reason One: Poor quality phones. Had to replace the current phone one month after the warranty expired - halfway through a two-year contract. While there are some cool bells and whistles on these phones, the battery life is pathetic. Plug in the phone and leave it overnight. Unplug the phone in the morning. Check the battery icon - full charge, good! Carry the phone all day. Decide to make a call sometime in the afternoon and notice that the battery icon is only 1/3 green. Make a five minute call and then listen to the phone beginning to bleat in exhaustion because the battery is about to cough up and die.

Reason Two: Spotty coverage. Seriously. There is never any coverage inside Neatnik's school. Some days, there is coverage in the parking lot of Neatnik's school though never in the school. Other days, it is a dead zone and you have to drive two miles away before coverage is restored. How do I know this? That's about where the car is when "you have a message" alert starts to chime.

Reason Three: Inconsistent coverage. Not to be confused with the "spotty coverage" in Reason Two. Picture this: two identical cell phones, one belonging to Number Guy and one belonging to trek, both sporting full charge and sitting side by side on the kitchen counter. Pick up the trek phone and attempt to make a call. "No network coverage". WTF? Check display. Sure enough, signal strength is zero. Zero. Check Number Guy's phone. Full signal strength. Reboot the offending phone. Check the display again. Still no signal strength. What, this phone is nearsighted or something?

Reason Four: Most clan trek contacts are on the same network. They all have good coverage everywhere. Everywhere. Inside the church basement. At the beach. In mountainous regions. Calls within their network are included. Talk as long as they want. Not so much on the Number Guy/trek network.

Counting down to cell phone freedom... it's the network.