Emergency phones won't have service

Come Tuesday, up to 550 emergency-only phones issued to Kane County area seniors will be useless.

The On-Star service in about 500,000 cars won't work any more, either.

And many home alarm systems will not function.

In 2002, the federal government gave permission to cellular phone companies to shut down their analog networks on Feb. 19, 2008.

If a cell phone is more than five years old, it most likely is an analog one.

The analog shutdown will affect up to 500 Elgin area seniors who received donated phones for emergency 911 use only. In the Tri-Cities area, the shift will hit about 45 people.

In 2004, the Elgin Police Department, the Elgin Township Triad and Senior Services started the CASE program. As of Tuesday, many of these phones won't work any longer.

The On-Star system in many older cars also use an analog system for communication, as do many home alarm systems.

Elgin officer Cherie Aschenbrenner, who works with the elderly, says more than 600 of the cell phones have been distributed in the past four years through the program Cellular Assistance for Seniors of Elgin.

"The phones have been used to report crimes and they give seniors a sense of security," she said.

About 1 million -- or 1 percent -- of the cell phones in the United States are still analog.

"Most of the phones we distributed in 2004, 2005 and 2006 were of the analog type," Aschenbrenner said.

"Most of the ones we distributed in 2007, and some in 2006, were of the digital type which will still accept the 911 calls."

Digital phones have text or instant messaging, Internet features, an MP3 player, a camera or a SIM card that allow them to dial 911.

Kane County Triad has operated a program similar to Elgin's for at least the last 1½ years.

Kenneth Johnson, the group's chairman who also serves as a detective for the Kane County Sheriff's Department, said about 60 phones have been issued and 75 percent likely are analog.

Johnson said TRIAD will be working with a wireless expert to determine which phones are obsolete and will contact each owner.

"It's definitely going to affect us," he said. "Most of the phones we have are older, analog phones."

In the meantime, residents can donate old phones at the front desks of the Batavia, Geneva or St. Charles police departments; Kane County Sheriff's Department; and Geneva Township Center. Please specify that the phone is for TRIAD.

For more information, call (630) 232-3600.

Aschbrenner said seniors who are in the CASE program should take their cell phones to a local cellular store and ask if it is an analog phone. Do not bring the cell phone to the Elgin Police Department because it does not have the resources to check each phone.

Aschenbrenner included news of the analog shut down in this month's senior newsletter.

"I've switched out 10 phones already," she said. "I'm seeing three to four seniors a day."

If you have a used digital cell phone which will can be used by a senior to call 911 only, you can drop it off at the Elgin Police Community Relations Department.

On-Star and home alarm system customers should check with your car dealer or vendor.

Analog shutoff

Cell-phone carriers, including AT&T, Verizon Wireless and Alltel, will be turning off their analog networks on Tuesday. The radio spectrum that is freed up can be used more efficiently with digital technology.

Who is affected: Cell phones: If your phone is less than five years old or has features like texting, Internet access or a built-in camera, it's not analog. An unknown number of analog handsets are still in use. Carriers say it's less than 1 percent of all U.S. cell phones, but that could still mean a million phones. Check phones that are kept around as 911-only phones. The main carriers with analog service are AT&T, Verizon Wireless and Alltel. Sprint Nextel and T-Mobile USA have no analog networks. Alltel and AT&T will also be finishing phasing out networks that use a first-generation digital technology known as D-AMPS or TDMA. Car communication systems: Generally, cars from the 2003 model year and older with OnStar from General Motors Corp., TeleAid from Mercedes-Benz or Lexus Link are affected and most won't be upgradable. Upgrade kits are available for most OnStar systems from model years 2004 and 2005.

Home alarms: Affected systems are burglar and fire alarms that use an analog network as a sole or backup link between the home and an alarm center. Homes with analog networks will lose wireless backup alarms, which kick in if someone cuts the phone line. Alarm systems using digital wireless links are available.