Hurricane Irene may test cell phone networks

WASHINGTON - When a 5.8 magnitude earthquake rocked the East Coast earlier this week, so many people grabbed their cell phones to call family and friends that networks quickly became overloaded.

Did you feel that? Cell networks clogged by calls

CBS News national correspondent Chip Reid reports the situation became so serious that the Federal Emergency Management Agency urged the public to "use email or text messages ... So that emergency officials can continue to receive and respond to urgent calls."

Special Section: Hurricane Irene
East Coast braces for potentially historic Hurricane Irene

Nearly 10 years after thew Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, when overloaded cell phone systems crashed, possibly hindering the response of police and firefighters, the federal government is still searching for a solution.

Now, Hurricane Irene will test cell phone networks again - and not just with call overload. There's the added threat of wind damage to signal towers. CNET's Maggie Reardon says, "when you have winds blowing 120 miles per hour, it can really affect the equipment that's on towers that's exposed to the environment. These towers are high, the equipment's up high."

During Hurricane Katrina, more than 1,000 cell towers were knocked out. And there's no federal standard for windspeeds that those towers must withstand.

Bobby Outten, manager of Dare County on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, where Hurricane Irene is expected to make a direct hit, says, "All communications will be impacted because it doesn't take much to turn a tower the wrong way or turn a dish for our communications the wrong way."

Cell phone companies have spent millions in recent years to upgrade their technology. But, Reardon says, not for the worst-case scenario. "For cell phone carriers it really doesn't make sense from a cost perspective for them to be building their networks for the highest demand."

If the cell phone goes out, use a landline phone. But that won't work for everyone. More than a quarter of American homes are now cell-phone-only - and good luck finding a pay phone.

[DavidS8]

Please follow up on this story. Reliable communications after a major event like an earthquake or storm are critical and the different providers respond very differently in the quality of service that they provide and the speed with which they respond to outages. In follow up to the past weeks events, it would be very interesting if you could review:

- How many regions and neighborhoods lost cell service from the different providers (towers lost, etc.)?
- How many customers lost cell service?
- How quickly was full service restored?
- Same questions for wireless data services (e.g. are RIM blackberries really more reliable?)
- How many customers lost land line internet services from which providers?
- How quickly was full service restored?

In my experience, the electric power utilities respond very quickly, within minutes to a couple of hours if a downed line is involved. The traditional telephone companies respond within a day. The cell phone providers vary widely in their responses, some leaving customers without service for many days. The cable tv providers are the worst, sometimes leaving customers without service for more than a week, even if that service includes internet and VOIP phone service.

People can make choices, but they need reliable information on quality of service in order to make those decisions. I appreciate that quality of service measures are not as easily defined as the electric utility "customers without power" numbers, and unlike the electric utilities, the communications providers do not make outage information readily available, but that is precisely the point. Consumers are currently making choices pretty much blind. Real data would be extremely valuable, and follow up after a major storm is precisely when it matters most.

[30127cnet]

""For cell phone carriers it really doesn't make sense from a cost perspective for them to be building their networks for the highest demand.""

Translation: The CEOs and upper execs of these companies won't be able to get their yearly multi-million dollar bonus checks if they invest the money into making sure their services can handle high demands in the time of crisis.

It's really sad, but the fact is, if ANY real disaster hits, you might as well count on your cell phone not working. Yet, people keep dropping their land lines more and more and then get stuck when something like this happens. If you're not going to invest in a very expensive satellite phone, then keep a basic land line folks... the execs at the big four cell carriers are sure not going to give up those bonuses to make sure you can get through to someone in an emergency - that you can count on.

[CandJradioforwomen]

Great advice on cell phone problems with a storm!
We shared the link with our listeners!!!

Life for my town is somewhat back to normal from the Tornado that struck this spring. No power and water for over two weeks and no cable/internet access for four...I found this and wanted to share the CBS story on being prepared especially with your phone....
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/08/25/eveningnews/main20097495.shtml

http://www.candjradioforwomen.com

[USMC-Mom]

Try texting, it is supposed to go though easier than phone calls.

[barbaram99]

I am in Seattle..I have friends and family back east. I am from Maine. I have the local tv station web sites here..I will check the news back home. Mum does not have a computer.She is 74. Yer right there is no payphones..We have a landline..And cell.

[bruceUSA]

Heck it happened the other day when we had the earth quake! I tried to call a brother 80 miles away and had to wait 2-3 hrs. before the lines were open. So what happens during a catastrophic event??? Once again regulations need to be in place because obviously the greedy phone companies won't do it on their own. Sad but true. Oh did I forget to mention rates will be going up but not the quality of the service!!!

[cattiej]

The above comment is right on the money...and by money, I mean that these big companies are making billions in profits and yet when a person needs the cellphone for an emergency, it won't Hurricane Irene will not have service so you had better make your important calls to family and friends now beause you won't be able to later. The ATMs won't work either. This is going to be a test of a human experience that will test us all. Everyone must, I say MUST help others, good neighbors at this time is more valuable than gold..good friends should call and offer to help friends that live in the area that may be hit. I have lived thru 3 hurricanes will living in Alabama..the worst was Hurricane Ivan, Sept 15, 2004..when we had 132 miles per hour winds at our home across from Pensacola, Florida...then is when you found out how valuable your friends and neighbors are or aren't....to everyone who thinks they can stay to protect their STUFF, I feel that nothing in our house was worth staying for...we can always replace STUFF, but not our loved ones....and for those who want to hear from someone who has lived thru 3 hurricanes...my next and last advice is DON'T WAIT UNTIL THE LAST MINUTE TO LEAVE, YOU WILL NOT GET OUT BUT BE IN A LINE OF CARS THAT STRETCHES FOR MILES.

[gadfly65]

"Nearly 10 years after thew Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, when overloaded cell phone systems crashed, possibly hindering the response of police and firefighters, the federal government is still searching for a solution."

The U.S. is far behind Europe in developing information technology infrastructure. Because the GOP has pushed deregulation as the key to a strong economy, American communications companies have been allowed to sell more subscriptions than the networks can support and pocket huge profits rather than investing a reasonable percentage into developing a system that can not only deliver on their promises, but can also ensure our national security.