http://www.elpasoinc.com/readArticle.as ... &xrec=5418

Hijacked along the border
Mexico cell signals knock off US carriers
By Timothy Roberts

EL PASO-It can happen while you’re in the car. It can happen when you’re at lunch. It can happen at any moment and most often when you least expect it.

And it’s a frequent occurrence along the border: a cell phone signal from México knocks the signal from AT&T or Sprint or some other U.S. carrier off your mobile phone and takes over.

The result can be expensive, as your cell plan is pushed aside, and when your monthly bill arrives you can find hundreds of dollars in extra charges for roaming and data use.

When electronics salesman Trent Hatch crosses the border into México, his AT&T signal switches to Telcel. This is as it should be. The two companies have this coordinated so customers can cross the border and maintain communications.

And when the 37-year-old Mexican native who has lived in the U.S. for 19 years returns to El Paso, he often has to shut down and restart his phone to get back on AT&T.

But what really gets his goat are those times when his Blackberry picks up a Telcel signal when he’s north of the border. It seems random and can happen several miles from the Rio Grande.

“My gripe is that when I’m on the U.S. side, I still get their signal,â€