Connecting to a base station doesn't mean that I can make calls or use the Internet

I was reading with interest on the topic of what does the word "availability" means to some telcos. Based on what I have read, it seems that telcos think that being able to connect to a "base station"  means that your phone is connected and thus service is available. Nevermind that you're unable to make a call or connect to the Internet.

Tell me, if you can connect to your Internet (your laptop/desktop says you're connected) modem but unable to get onto the Internet, is your internet service considered available or not available? Unless I read the article wrongly, by virtual of me being able to connect to the modem, the service is considered available.

This extends to the other frustrations that we face too. I can have full signal strength on my mobile phone but yet when I make calls, sometimes I am unable to hear what the other party is saying, or whatever I'm saying breaks up. So is my phone service considered available or unavailable? Don't get me started on the reliability of the 3G connection on my mobile phone.

If your base station can't take so many users, then jolly well restrict the number of users per base station and add more. But then again, it doesn't matter if you have a lot of base station but all using that small pipe to connect to the world. Makes no difference.

Available or unavailable, that's the question.