VoIP vs POTS (was Re: Operation Ghost Click)

Thu May 3 19:40:40 UTC 2012

Yep. What you experienced is exactly what I expected.  And yes, sms MAY
make it when a call will not.  In SAR demos we tell people, lost in the
woods, if cell doesn't work, send a message, hold the phone as high as
you can and slowly move it a couple feet back and forth. 

I do lots of public service events in the Alleghenies (the PA portion of
the Appalachians) where cell towers are either non-existant, far away or
hidden by another hill.  

I know this is off topic but if it saves a life, so be it.

When in this kind of area, TURN THE PHONE OFF WHEN YOU DON"T NEED IT.
My battery goes down in3-4 hours in the woods where in my home area it
stays up for nearly 30 hours.  It goes on high power hunting for a tower
that is not there.  

If you are planning to use a cell for emergencies, have an alternate way
to charge it.  I have a home made 8 AA cell pack with a cigarette
lighter well that I carry - I can do a couple recharges.  It will also
operate my ham radio Hand held for days which is far better to get me
out.

BTW if you are using a GPS, take at least 3 sets of spare batteries.
Other good things, a whistle, a mirror (to check your hair - you want to
look good for the searchers - grin), a garbage bag for an emergency
poncho and water.  If you can read a compass and map they are good but
if you don't know what magnetic north is, take a class if you plan to be
in the wooded areas.  It is also good to carry a snake bite kit, .38 and
9MM ones are great.  The woods are fun.

Ralph Brandt

-----Original Message-----
From: Luke S. Crawford [mailto:lsc at prgmr.com] 
Sent: Thursday, May 03, 2012 3:26 PM
To: NANOG list
Subject: Re: VoIP vs POTS (was Re: Operation Ghost Click)

On Thu, May 03, 2012 at 10:59:47AM -0400, Brandt, Ralph wrote:
> One of the first things cellular companies can do is stop overselling
> cellular.  The second is end or raise the price significantly on
> unlimited plans, both voice and data.  Go to what the landlines
called,
> USS, that is you pay for every minute....  Even if that charge is
small,
> it will drive usage down.
> 
> Otherwise on a bad day people will die waiting for the yackers to get
> off the call phone so they can call 911.  Hopefully it will not be on
> VOIP and the internet is down.

A few years back, I was working late on the top floor of one of the
Yahoo 
mission college buildings during an earthquake.  It felt really
dramatic;
I was on the 9th floor and the lights were swinging back and forth and 
yeah.   So, I went outside (who knows how bad it was)  figured out it
wasn't that bad, and so before going home, I decided to call some people
to tell them I was okay.  Of course, it was as you describe, I couldn't
get through.

what did I do?  I sent a text message.  It got through and I got an
answer back in about the usual amount of time it takes someone to
respond
to a sms text.

It seems like SMS might be a reasonable backup during these periods of
high load.  