On 7 Jul 2011, at 01:33, Bob Bruninga wrote: > The issue here is not the failure of the cell site, it is the 10 million > people that all try to use their cell phones at once. It takes days for > people to get their "urgent calls through" before the load goes down enough > to have any hope of getting in. But like in Haiti, even after a few days, > the emergency persisted and still everyone needed to use their phones for > urgent requirements and so the load on the few hundered cell channels > persisted....
Exactly, It happened in Dunmore East (http://www.waterford-dunmore.com/tourism/web) last Sunday morning. Huge crowds descended on the village to watch the Tall Ships (http://www.waterfordtallshipsrace.ie/) leaving Waterford Harbour in the parade of sail. For several hours it was impossible to send text messages or maintain a voice call (the system suckered you into thinking it was working by ringing, and then the person would answer, the channel lasted long enough to say "hello"). We brought our communications network with us, so it wasn't a problem for us, but it was an eye opener for the County Council people who were 'coordinating' via mobile phone. Regards John EI7IG _______________________________________________ Sent via AMSAT-BB@amsat.org. Opinions expressed are those of the author. Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! Subscription settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb
