[Ares-races] Cellular carriers criticized (WSJ)

[w3qx@qsl.net]

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From: EDUCAUSE@EDUCAUSE.EDU
Subject: Edupage, August 18, 2003

CELLULAR CARRIERS CRITICIZED FOR PERFORMANCE IN EMERGENCIES
After intermittent cellular service during last week's power outage,
many consumers and industry watchers are highly critical of the idea
that cell phones offer consumers added security in times of
emergencies. Some wireless carriers have urged consumers to "cut the
cord" on landline phones and rely entirely on a cellular phone. Some
experts said that cell phone infrastructures are not built to be
redundant, the way landline phone networks are. Claims about added
safety from having a cell phone, they argue, are unfounded. Wireless
carriers stood by their claims that cellular phones are extremely
reliable and indeed offer consumers a measure of security they cannot
have if they depend on a landline phone. The power failure was
responsible for gaps in service, they said, not the networks
themselves.
Wall Street Journal, 18 August 2003 (sub. req'd)
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB106106896616183400,00.html

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On 8/16/03 at 4:00 PM -0400, BillLennox@aol.com wrote:
>  From:  CNN/Money
>     
>  Wireless gets blacked out too
>         
>  Trying to use your cell phone during the blackout was nearly impossible. What
>  went wrong?
>
>  August 16, 2003:  8:58 AM EDT
>  By Paul R. La Monica, CNN/Money Senior Writer
>         
>     
>       NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - The blackout of 2003 proved one thing to many
>  cell phone users: the death of the traditional landline may be greatly
>  exaggerated.  Many wireless customers in the New York metropolitan 
> area, parts [.../]