Farewell to Analog Cellular

HD DVD isn't the only technology making an exit this week. Both AT&T and Verizon have now shut down their analog AMPS cell phone networks, finally pushing virtually all mobile communications here into the digital world.

While neither company will say exactly how many customers have still been clinging to analog technology. Verizon says it represents less than one percent of its user base. Sounds small, but as Ars Technica notes, that could mean up to 600,000 people suddenly in the dark.

Of course, those folks can't really be surprised by this. The decision to drop analog cellular was decided way back in 2002, when the telcos petitioned the federal government to let them abandon the legacy technology in favor of digital. Unfortunately, a few scurrilous companies, like GM's OnStar division, kept making analog products, sometimes for years after the writing was on the wall. (OnStar's analog service was preemptively shut off on January 1 of this year.) Fortunately, upgrading to a digital phone is hardly cost-prohibitive.

Still want analog? It survives in pockets. Some regional, mainly rural, carriers still offer analog service, as does small, semi-national provider US Cellular, though USC will be going all-digital before the end of the year. Those rural networks won't stick with analog forever, either. If you're still holding out, best to get a digital handset now, before it becomes an emergency.

Of course, your phone is only one arena where digital is stomping out analog tech. The next battleground is over your TV, which will stop receiving analog broadcasts (because they'll stop being transmitted) on February 17, 2009. If you've still got rabbit ears and an old TV set, you've got exactly one year to prepare for that switch.