I know I'm not alone when I curse the dropped call, the static, the "can you hear me now" (Yeah, Verizon, I'm talking to you!), and the 5-bars that should probably be zero (your turn, Cingular!!). What surprises me so much is that I can't think of another time in human history when a technology that only barely worked ever reached mass consumer adoption without first being fixed.
The reasons, I guess, are clear. We need our cell phones! Most of us (studies have shown it's inversely proportional to age) couldn't live without our constant side-kick. I'm certainly not one to dismiss the advantages of having a cell phone, either. Being in constant communication with the people in our lives, no matter what we or they happen to be doing, is pretty compelling. Services introduced recently (within the last 10 years) that allow us to send text messages, photos, sound clips, and smiley faces without ever actually having to speak to the person on the other end have also taken rapid hold of our daily routine (again, this seems to be inversely proportional to the age of the cell phone user). Without a doubt, the invention of the cell phone has permanently changed the face of American culture, advanced our productivity by factors of 10 or more, and made us all safer, to boot. There's absolutely no question why the adoption has been so rapid.
But if cell phones are so great, and nearly every American owns one, why does my cell phone service still suck?!?
Back in the early days of the cell phone adoption (mid 1980's) the only people who could afford the mobile / brick phones were the wealthy businessmen. Coverage was limited to highly urban areas, but the signals were strong, the voices were clear, and the system rarely dropped a call. These days, I've come to the conclusion that every carrier is the same, each with their own advantages and disadvantages, their own dead-spots and their own good spots (although I would argue that even in the best of spots, with the best of carriers, you're still going to have the "can you hear me now" moments and the occasional dropped call). While newer and better features have been added to the cellular networks (they're digital now instead of analog [by the way, I would argue this has made things WORSE, rather than better], we have internet access through our phones, we can send text messages and photos, and the phones are much cooler and smaller) the actual quality of the services rendered have plummetted faster than the price itself. Note, however, that the total amount on your cell phone bill probably hasn't changed in the last 5 years, despite the fact that service plans continue to get cheaper. They find newer and more creative ways to charge you for "extras" that you probably aren't using. The common mistake people make in their minds is believing their current carrier is worse than the others, and if they just switch, their service or their price will improve.
Enter the world of a market that's reached absolute critical mass (everyone today who needs a cell phone or wants a cell phone probably already has one). The cell carriers make money only by stealing customers from their competitors with fancy phones and promotions, then they lock you into a 2-year contract because they know you'll discover their dirty little secret -- That they're absolutely no different than the carrier you came from.
What's caused things to go downhill so fast? Why are you paying the same price per month you've always paid but getting more dropped calls, fewer bars on your phone (maybe you're getting more bars, but realizing they don't actually mean anything) and finding that your coverage has more dead-spots than ever??
It's actually YOUR fault. Yes.. You!!
Because you put up with it. The cell carriers have us exactly where they want us. You can't switch to another carrier because it won't make any difference (and if you switch to carrier X, they just got another customer from carrier Y, so it all balances out). They spend more money on marketing, clever promotions, and bringing in the latest and greatest phones than they spend improving the quality of their networks. And it won't change until you refuse to pay them.
This isn't a call for everyone to stop using your cell phone, I'm not sure I'm there yet. This is a call for regulation (and believe me, I'm the LAST guy in the world who wants the government interfering in your life) but once a technology reaches critical mass, it can't be controlled effectively in a free market anymore because the demand no longer alters the spply. If your home phone worked as well as your cell phone, your congressman would have solved the problem for you a long time ago. Critical infrastructure (and I would argue that cell phones have reached that point) need to be protected, and the cell carriers lack the motivation needed to treat their products as such.
Unfortunately, for the time being, I don't see my $75 a month getting me anything more than a few extra text messages a month, which I may or may not receive. I am, and will probably continue to be, frustrated.