29476: Cell phones vs land phones (An opinion) From Math Jay (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: jepiem@aol.com

 I have always been an advocate of developping a good land phone system in 
Haiti before going into widespread use of mobile phones (cellular). My 
arguments were that in general a well developped and well maintained system is 
more efficient, provides cheaper and more reliable service to the population at 
large and it is essential for businesses to function. Public phones in well 
placed areas could make local communication very cheap and available to the 
general population a large majority of which don't even have a place to set up 
a home phone. The counter argument seemed to be that cell phones are more 
easily and cheaply made available and that the high cost of the minute/use 
would go down when more companies are allowed to compete. What is going on now? 
Teleco seems to have almost abandonned the idea of maintaining the esisting 
land phone system, let alone improving it. If your home phone goes out, chances 
are it won't talk to you again for the next three years if ever. So,
 even businesses with multiple lines are reduced to using one or two lines. 
Whole communities can be shut out from preexisting service. At the same time 
there are about three or four cell phone companies competing for business of 
providing cell phone service to the population. Even people who sometimes can't 
afford a decent meal at will carry their cell phones around as there is no 
public phones and hardly enough functionning home phones. Quality of the 
service? When the land phone works, the conversation within a city is crystal 
clear. Most of the times, the conversation on a cell phone between two units at 
about five to 10 mile distance is a dialogue between deafs. Bits of the 
conversation are lost and often the entire communication is scratchy and barely 
understandable, at least with some carriers, depending on where you are. At 
about 30 to 50 miles, it's a lottery as to whether your call will go through. 
Since the land phones hardly function, and most people don't have an
  available home line, international calls to Haiti have to rely on the cell 
phones. The companies in Haiti sell the idea that people don't get charged for 
in coming international calls. Guess what. You call someone on a cell phone in 
Haiti and they charge you through the nose. Worse yet, half the time it's a one 
way affair. Either you can't hear the contact or the contact can't hear you. 
Dropped off calls? You've heard of that? Costwise, it isn't that much better 
for the people in Haiti. Most have to rely on the card system, a model which 
uses a card that you purchase and load on your phone for so many minutes. Cards 
do get lost and/or stolen and they have an expiration date. If you don't use 
the minute time after loading them on your phone you lose your money. I bought 
two 600 gourde cards plus a two 100 gourde cards during a 1week stay. That's 
1400gourdes or 280 haitian dollars. At the end of the trip I had only about 350 
or 400 gourde worth of minutes left. (70 to 80 HD).
  The irony is that at least for the company I dealt with they couldn't tell me 
how many minutes I was buying with my money.The driver who was helping me in 
one excursion makes 700 HD a month on his regular job and he considers himself 
lucky to have that job! To me, inspite of claims to the contrary, the cell 
phone use explosion in Haiti is one more drain on the feeble and moribund 
economy of the country and government had better get on the ball to provide a 
well developped and well maintained land phone system for the use of all. Cell 
phone can only be viewed as a supplement for those who feel they absoloutely 
have to have one and most of all those who can really afford them.
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