....give up my cellphone. First, I live in a rural/country area. We have a small school district, but schools are as much at 18 miles apart. My granddaughter, age 12, lives with me. For basketball, cheerleading practice, etc, they are bussed to different gyms. Schedules change and she can call me & tell me about the change. No pay phones at the school.
But I first got one about 10 years ago when my husband became ill, and the only way he could be at home alone was to be able to reach me 24/7. He could call my cellphone even if the office phone was busy.
Distance travel here is normal. We have great tower coverage from Alltel. People from other cities come here who use Cingular, Verizon, etc - cannot use their cellphones, but I can go to their city and mine still works.
Usage: Now that he has passed away, my cellphone is off at the office. I do not drive talking. I'm an insurance agent and believe me have had clients involved in accidents talking on their cellphones. They are so embarrassed when they have to tell what happened. Besides it is rude to other drivers who have to watch out for the "talkers."
If I am having a conversation with someone and they answer their cellphone and do not tell the other party they will call back, I just walk away. If I have mine on and it rings, I look to see who it is and do not answer. I can call them back. Unless! Unless I am expecting a call from the granddaughter about picking her up, but I always say, "Please excuse me for a minute. It's XXXX and I need to know where and when to pick her up." and then keep the conversation very short.
X number of hours of "celliquette" should be required of anyone owning a cellphone. They have their place and usage. Unfortunately not everyone has been clued in about that.
And speaking of cell service, Alltel has been very good to me: replacing a phone that had orange juice spilled on it (I didn't do it); replacing a phone that didn't seem to be working properly, etc.
Beckster