I was just on the phone, and had to check a website, when I discovered that my home internet connection had gone down. So, no trouble, right; I could just use the browser on the phone. Except that when I tried that, it turned out that there was no data connection!
One little-remarked-upon or noticed feature of GSM UTMS/HSDPA 3G (the form of 3G used in most places) is that you are allowed use data while making a phonecall. CDMA, the form of 3G used on some American networks and in a few other places, is not so accomodating. Nor is EDGE, the 2G data system used in GSM regions where 3G is not available.
It turns out that what had happened was that not only had my home internet connection gone down, but so had 3G. I'm not sure why these both happened at the same time; it seems odd. Anyway, I normally get 3G, so I'm used to being allowed use data while on the phone. In this case, the phone had dropped to EDGE, so no data until I hung up. I'd never seen the 'data not available' message before.
It occurs to me that this must be quite annoying for those who use CDMA phones and never have data available while on the phone; it's something you get used to very easily. I'm surprised, actually, that the GSM networks in the US don't advertise this as a feature; its absence was most disconcerting.
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