"are land-lines so un-heard of..."

when I lived in Budapest, Hungary from 92-95 there was a 2-year wait to get a phone line: "radio-phones" proliferated like crazy. (I looked at renting an apartment that HAD a phone line! hoo-ray! Only to find out that it had been turned off and would take a whole year to be re-connected) I can't imagine that China would be all that better that the gem of Goulash Communism....

We take a lot of things for granted....even snail mail doesn't work every where....

The waiting period for a land-line in Manila was about a year in certain parts. There are simple ways to get yourself moved father ahead in the queue -- usually being related to somebody at PLDT (the telco) or greasing the palm of a "fixer" (someone who will smooth the way for you for a fee) does the trick. However, it's simpler to just buy a cell phone.

I remember reading in a Wired of a few years back that the waiting time for a land line in China is even *longer* than in the Philippines.

Don't forget the difference in culture, either. While many North Americans find the use of a cell phone while walking down the street distasteful, it's considered perfectly natural in SE Asia. Round-eyes can be so uptight sometimes ;).

I kinda just figured it was because they can be used to track your geographical location.

It's probably because the US military is intercepting their radio/cell traffic. SIGINT rawks.

China is considered a major market for cell phones, precisely because many parts of the country don't have land lines, and maybe never will.