| No matter where you live, the odds are that | | | | necessarily the truth. |
| you’ve seen tons of different ads, | | | | Consider the following example: One carrier |
| commercials, and have probably even received | | | | concentrates primarily on an enormous city with |
| telemarketing calls from lots of different cellular | | | | an exceptionally large population. This means that |
| phone carriers, such as Cingular/AT&T, Verizon | | | | the population density of the geographic space is |
| Wireless, and Sprint. They all claim to be the | | | | very high, with sky scrapers abounding and very |
| fastest, largest, and best cell phone networks | | | | few single family dwellings. In that case, a |
| available. | | | | maximum number of people will be able to reach |
| However, they can’t all be the top cellular | | | | the network in a minimum amount of space. |
| phone carrier. So which one does actually have | | | | Comparatively, if another carrier focused on an |
| the largest network in America? It isn’t | | | | entire state, but that state is one that only has |
| always hard to tell because not a carrier’s | | | | small towns and mid-sized cities, then they will |
| claim of being the largest network is based on | | | | have a larger geographical coverage, but fewer |
| actual geographic coverage (other than Alltel). In | | | | people will be accessing the network. |
| fact, none of the carriers even seem to be able | | | | However, with the measurements used by the |
| to identify the actual square mileage of their own | | | | cellular phone carrier companies, they would say |
| networks. As the size has never been measured, | | | | that the first carrier’s network was much |
| the data isn’t there to compare with others. | | | | larger than the second one – even though |
| Therefore, the cellular carriers use a different | | | | it’s geographical size is dramatically smaller. |
| technique – the number of people physically | | | | The ratio they’re counting on |
| located within the carrier’s service area. This | | | | (person-to-geographical space assumption) |
| means that what is truly being measured is the | | | | doesn’t balance out. |
| number of people who are capable of accessing | | | | If you are ever in the situation where you need |
| the network, not the physical geographical | | | | to find the owner to any cell phone number, |
| network size. The thought is that the more | | | | check this out find the owner to any cell phone |
| physical ground you cover, the more people | | | | number. |
| you’ll be able to reach. However, this is not | | | | |