THE BETA SYNDROME part 2

I just saw a piece of news that supports my BETA syndrome theory. As i start to write this, i do not know whether ill end up giving just another example of the BETA syndrome. But, i hope to achieve much more than that. 

A piece of news being followed by a news channels (with their so called consumer surveys, interviews & the likes) is about CALL DROPS on cellphones.

So why do calls drop? It could be given to many reasons:

1. Over crowding of spectrum, more users & less bandwidth

2. Less cell sites by cellphone companies

3. Still unfathomable spaces in current cellphone technology, like basements, elevators & high-rises.

We have started living with this CHALTA HAI attitude when our cellphone shows limited or no signal in basement parking lots (which i believe are spaces needing most connectivity due to their exponential increase in size recently), high rises (how do i call a fire brigade?) and elevators (ah, need i say more...)

So the most critical spaces are NOT being covered by our cell sites. These would also include most hilariously, highways with less traffic, and remote villages.

So, in short our great cell companies have a vendetta to advertise their product as purely urbane & having functionality limited to general gossip, and sports a NOT TO BE USED IN CASE OF EMERGENCY tagline.

We all know how safe & connected we have become with the cellphone revolution in our country. We can call anybody (literally) at any time of the hour from anywhere (almost).

I have used the cellphone successfully in remote locations on the way to ladakh in 2004, when these things were seen as a wonder. 

So, what has it got to do with BETA syndrome? & why am i lashing about cellphones with my head in the sand?

if we are to look at cellphone technology, in theory, it is meant to go through walls (not multiple walls though) and provide us seamless connectivity. But, it fails due to higher spacing between cell sites or network traffic. So, while i cannot say about other countries (but hearsay is similar to ours, so im not india-bashing), the companies are so eager to launch their product that they do not test it completely. I agree it is virutally impossible to test all places before releasing cellphone technology. But there are other ways, companies could just turn out with schemes which ask customers to report places where signal is weak or not available, and in return they get a token gift (which is useless most of the times). 

Just using customers as their testing personnel, companies stand to gain a lot. Im not saying they will be able to wipe out the inefficiency of technology, but they will atleast come across as a pro-active organization, which is ready to accept the drawbacks of its product, and do the needful in order to serve the consumer better. 

There is hardly anything like perfection, but then, one can always create a positive image by trying hard..

While there are other ways of tackling this problem where a regulator fines the companies for such deficits, i think it is taking the point to the extreme. Yes, in the interest of maintaining their consumer base, the company can give discount plans to consumers facing recurring problems!!

Anybody out there, listening?? .... oh damn:

LIMITED CONNECTIVITY- emergency calls only