Hurricane Maria: Summary of communication status - and lack of

Jean-Francois Mezei jfmezei_nanog at vaxination.ca
Sat Sep 30 06:16:52 UTC 2017


On 2017-09-29 23:07, Sean Donelan wrote:

> I don't know what FCC and PRTRB are counting:
> 
>      286 working cell sites out of 2671 (according to FCC report)
>      96 working cell sites out of 1600 (according to PR Telecommunications 
> Regulatory Board report)

I had noticed the different numbers too. My speculation:

The 1600 may refer to antenna  sites, whereas the 2671 may be the sum of
the number of sites reported by each carrier (think a mast supporting
antennas from multiple carriers).


Assuming my logic is correct, the 96/1600 statistic may be of more use
in a "can I dial 911" point of view.  Having multiple carriers "up" at
the same tower doesn't increase geographic footprint where some coverage
exists.

>From a disaster management point of view, in a town where each carrier
has its own tower, deciding which one to light up first could be
interesting. (aka carriers getting together to compare state of antennas
in town and somehow elevating that info to whoever controls the
generators (army corps of engineers who are "foreigners" with no local
knowledge).




More information about the NANOG mailing list