Carriers will start shutting down the analog cellular network in February 2008.
I remeber my dad's brick phone, the first portable. Making a call from a car was novel. Got my first analog phone in college. then a second phone a few years later, opted for Voicestream when that was new (before it was bought by T-Mobile).
I still have the analog phone, kept it as a backup on roadtrips, but stopped service when plans changed. While the analog network has been around for a long time, it's only been ~15 years since cell phones have been popular. I thought the analog network would be around (for a few more years anyway) but it's going away --and fast!
I'm not sure about coverage either -it used to be the analog network was the only service in remote areas. maybe that's changed, especially considering the shutdown. Some folks have kept analog phone around just for 911 service. that's gone now.