An article on CBS News explores if we can count on cell phone networks in disasters.
excerpts: "Since 9/11, wireless networks have been tested time and again, and their performance has been shaky. A major blackout in the Northeast in
2003, Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and the Minneapolis bridge collapse in 2007 put strains on local networks. Cellular service in New York City even ground to a halt last month because of a minor earthquake centered several hundred miles away. Undoubtedly, with each crisis, operators have learned more about what they can do to keep service up and running. But there's a flip side to that growing expertise: we're more dependent than ever on cell phones." . . ."The biggest problem wireless networks face today in a crisis is a rapid increase in usage. The networks don't have enough capacity to handle the surge in call volume. Cellular networks are designed to handle a certain amount of calls in each cell site or region, with wireless operators carefully calculating how much usage is needed to serve the average usage volume while having just enough capacity to handle spikes in demand. The problem occurs when a disaster hits, and thousands of people all at once pick up their phones to call someone, send a text message, update Twitter, and so on. There simply isn't enough capacity in the network to allow everyone in a cell site to make a phone call at the same time." . . .
"An analyst said most networks are designed to handle only about 20 percent to 40 percent of maximum traffic, with 40 percent being on the conservative side. 'It's just economic insanity for any carrier to try to solve the congestion problem,' " . . .
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