Re: phones upgrades - cloning

[Chris Woodward <cwoodwar@bellsouth.net>]

Cloning is the act of making one cell phone's ESN (electronic serial
number) and its phone number the same as anther's.  In essence, you have
made a "clone" of the other phone.  What you described was FRAUD which
involved cloning.  Another type of FRAUD, for example, is subscription
fraud where a person lies on a cellular application and puts the bill in
another person's name.

If I were not a cellular dealer, I would be inclined to say that cloning
for personal use is your RIGHT, the same as hooking up multiple
extensions to your home phone number.  Of course, more than one
extension cannot be used at the same time--same as cloning a phone.
However, from the cellular companies' standpoint, this reduces revenue
by allowing people to have fewer lines.  Last I heard about the
litigation, the cellular companies had convinced the FCC to outlaw
alterations of a telephone's ESN, therefore eliminating cloning.

Of course,  if you have the AUDI phone, an idea for Airtouch and Bell
customers (and others for that matter) is to purchase a "companion
line."  This is a cellular line available to existing subscribers for
4.95 - 9.95 per month which gives you another phone number for use on
another phone.  With this set-up, both can be used simultaneously--give
one to the wife, kids, etc. for the day if need be.

Chris
'97 A4t
'90 80