Before long, most Americans could have a single telephone number that will ring them at home, work or anywhere else they go in the country - and eventually around the world.
The all-purpose number is a key feature of a new generation of mobile phone service called personal communications service.The pocket-size phones will look much like existing cellular or cordless devices and work on wireless communications networks that allow calls to a person, rather than to a place. That would eliminate the need for separate listings for home, office and car, for example. And callers trying to track someone down wouldn't have to look up the number of, say, a restaurant, theater or health club.
Manufacturers say phones initially could range in price from $150 to $900, depending on capabilities. Consumers who buy them through companies that provide the new mobile service may pay less.
The service is being tested in a few U.S. markets, and the Federal Communications Commission plans to auction licenses this fall, clearing the way for companies to offer the service throughout the United States.
A license entitles a company to operate on a sliver of the public airwaves and to provide service to designated geographic areas. It could then take a couple of years for a company to build wireless networks and begin offering service.
Phones for the new networks should be available next year and the service could be operating in most parts of the country within 10 years, manufacturers said.
Like other new products, the prices of the phones are expected to come down over time. "One day they'll be cheap enough for parents to give to their kids - hang them from their belt loops - to find out where their 10-year-old is," said Douglas Smith, president of Omnipoint Corp., whose company is a leading developer in the new wireless business.
The phones would be smaller and lighter than existing cellular and cordless phones and would use less power, thereby extending battery life, one of the biggest problems with portable and cellular phones today.
In addition, the phone could stay on to receive a call for 72 hours straight, said Larry Hardigan, president of personal communications services for Qualcomm in San Diego.
Today's cellular phones offer one to two hours of talk time and between seven and 12 hours of standby time, he said.