In my campaign at the moment, the runners are stranded in the dead middle of the night in the Puyallup barrens, having to hoof it all the way back to downtown Seattle, through one of the most dangerous territories in the Seattle sprawl; a wasteland of broken buildings, soot and ash covered streets, with dense urban centers with claustrophobic mazes of alley-ways as well as wide open stretches of bubbling, boiling mudplanes left over from the eruption of Mt. Rainier. It's all kind of reminicent of The Warriors, where the group has to evade gangs as they sneak through their territory, xenophobic tribes trying to carve out an existance in that urban jungle, as well as hordes of ghouls out preying on their flesh.

All in all, they're having a really bad day.

Now my question; if there's no matrix coverage throughout most of the Puyallup, and mobile phones are now no more than ambulatory, mobile matrix access points, then will they or won't they have telecom coverage throughout the barrens?

I ruled that they didn't except for those well-funded and well-populated places - like Underworld 93 and certain designated monolithic, corporate, super-structure factories belching out noxious fumes through thick smokestacks - that had their own secured networks running.

What do you guys think?

No, Matrix might not equal no cell phones. But places with cell phone coverage will definately have Matrix coverage. Maybe the repeater cell is simply too primitive to be able to take Matrix cell uplinks.

Yes, I would allow cell phones in no Matrix areas.

IMO theyd get cellphone use hands down. Matrix coverage is primarily hard, landline based, for the majority of SR use. It takes special programs and gear to access it other ways, landline is the default. Cellphones, conversly, use wireless interface by default. Now, consider that cellphone use predates the Matrix and thus an area without Matrix installation or maintenance likley already has cellphone coverage, and the fact that some cellphones now-a-days have access to satellite or other broadreaching coverage for wilderness areas, and it makes perfect sense that a city as large and dense as Seattle can cater to simple phone use, even in the Barrens. Matrix no, Cellphone definatly yes.

Good point, White Dwarf. Two points, though, one relevant, the other not so relevant.

Non-relevant point: commercial satellite phone services have been abandoned for it's poor economic viability.

Relevant point; unless a celular or GSM network are distributed by satellites in the 2060s, which might very well be possible, a signal repeater will still be needed. My rationel is that a signal repeater will have to have matrix access, wouldn't you agree?

Remember the part in the BBB that said you couldn't deck through cell phones? But in Matrix, you could? Perhaps you could say that some areas like the Barrens, the repeaters were so primitive that they could only carry basic cell calls.

something to add fuel to the fire here...

newer modern day cell phones are actually using an IP based system (much like the matrix) to handle cell calls, as this catches on the older system will be depricated, and eventually not used anymore.

what does this mean for your barren-runners?

likely there is either matrix/cell or not, as having cell will be the same as having matrix. (it is getting that way today)

In area with lots of buildings you need lots of repeaters to keep an active signal going as you move around the town and are blocked by buildings. big concrete and steal building block radio pretty well, so Cell use is pretty much Line of Site. in the barrens, if they can "see" a repeater they will have cell phone and wireless matrix, if they can't, then they have neither.
if they are in a building and the repeater is not nearby, no cells, if they are underground, forget it.

i work in a company that deals with radio data networks, and i was surprised to find new cell phones using the same network as the police cars.

my 3(nuyen)

-Mike R.

Good point about the Crash, I was sorta presuming people may build off what was left. But regardless, its fairly easy to presume that whichever airwave method Seattle employs to make cellphones work, it could cover the metroplex rather easily, regardless of Matrix status. Especially with the way cellphones can cover areas like that now. The fact that even in the Barrens, the Matrix is specifically pointed out as sparse at best, while cellphones are given no special mention, says to me at least that its business as usual.

Hmmm, I think I just like the idea of an urban wastelands, filled with solitary predators, as well as roving bands of tribal nomads, where you have no mobile phone coverage. Just because it would make the Puyallup barrens all the more deadly. Not quite as claustrophobically dangerous as the Redmond barrens, but solitary and open.

Errr, why did you ask the question then? If you'd already made up your mind?

I think it is perfectly reasonable for cell coverage to be spotty at best. after the crash of 29' why bother building anything but wireless matrix phone systems? if we alredy are moving that way today in '04?

if you let them have cell than it can be a really old system that is not assist compatible (like in Matrix when it talks about old systems) in case they want to try decking through an antiquated cell system...

-Mike R.