by Charles Miller

Continuing with the theme of cellphones, I regularly get questions from friends and readers asking me to explain the workings of their cellphones. I have no special training or expertise in this area, nor do I know anyone who does; and that includes many of the employees of cellphone providers I have ever encountered. I therefore have had to fall back on empirical observation.

The Encyclopedia Britannica defines "empirical observation" as "the process of gathering information through direct experience or sensory perception, such as seeing, hearing, or measuring phenomena. This method is fundamental in scientific research as it helps to confirm or disprove theories based on real-world evidence." Therefore, a valid example of empirical observation is concluding that the reason rain falls from the heavens is that when people carry umbrellas it causes rain to fall. If you doubt that conclusion just look out a window on a rainy day and observe how many people are carrying umbrellas. So there! But not every empirical observation confirms post hoc ergo propter hoc. That caveat being stated, I will try to demystify some of the quirks encountered using cellphones.

I have a Mexican cellphone and it has worked flawlessly in every one of the many Mexican states I have visited. The only complaint I have had is that the voicemail has been unreliable. I was told by a Telcel employee when in Puerto Vallarta that I needed to be in my home LADA (area code) in order to retrieve voicemails.

I also have a USA cellphone that has worked flawlessly everywhere I have traveled in the states. That phone is, however, hit-or-miss when it is in Mexico. My USA phone worked once in Mexico City but not in San Miguel. I suppose that is because my Mexican phone works in Dallas and East Texas but it refuses to work in Houston. It appears this has to do with what cellphone tower is the closest.

Cellphone tower sharing arrangements between providers in Mexico and the USA typically involve roaming agreements, allowing users to access the antennas on towers belonging to different cellphone companies. This means that if your U.S. carrier (AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon, ) has a partnership agreement with a Mexican company (Telcel, Movistar, Usacell) you may be able to use your phone in Mexico if you are close to one of those towers. If your USA cellphone is provided by a small company (Affinity, Boom, Cricket, New York Mobile, SpeedTalk, etc.) you may be out of luck trying to use it in Mexico.

Trying to ascertain accurate information with regards to which USA cellphone companies have agreements with which Mexican cellphone companies is both challenging and frustrating. Frustrating because the employees of one cellphone company never seem to know what coverage is provided by other cellphone companies.

Please forgive me while I fall back on a years-old experience I had when phoning all the cellphone and pager providers near my Texas hometown trying to find out if there was anybody that provided service that worked in East Texas and in Mexico. I asked each of them if they had any service that would work when I visited Mexico. They all said "No" except for the one that said "Yes, they have service in all the states!" I asked if they had a coverage map for Mexico showing where their service worked. When he said "No" I asked if he had a list of cities that were served in Mexico.

"Yes, but I don't know how to pronounce these names," he said.

I said, "It is perfectly understandable if you don't speak Spanish it might be difficult. Could you please spell the names?"

"A-L-A-M-O-G-O-R-D-O, A-L-B-U-Q-U-E-R-Q-U-E,..."

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Charles Miller is a freelance computer consultant with decades of IT experience and a Texan with a lifetime love for Mexico. The opinions expressed are his own. He may be contacted at 415-101-8528 or email FAQ8 (at) SMAguru.com.

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