bob haller wrote:

but do try your old phone, the analog ones no longer work since every
carrier went all digital. the phones will still power up, but not see
any system since analog no longer exists

Contrary to popular belief analog most certainly does still exist. It
was turned off in urban areas by major carriers, but out in rural areas
there is still a lot of analog service still operating. The FCC gave the
carriers _permission_ to turn off analog, they did not require that
analog be turned off.

A lot of coverage on the fringes of urban areas was lost when analog was
turned off in those areas.