[Scan-DC] Carriers Deny Cell Shutdown Following Boston Bombings

[Bruce Harper]

On Tue, Apr 16, 2013 at 2:51 PM, Cathy wrote:


I have a brother who lives a half mile south of the bombing location in
> Boston.  He was able to call me on his cell phone at 3:21, about 30 minutes
> after the explosions.  He said he had been trying before that but couldn't
> make a call.  Sounds to me like overloaded towers more than any attempt to
> suppress calling.
>

Been there, have seen that, six years ago today when it all hit the fan
here at Virginia Tech. Once the police secured Norris Hall and rescue
squads entered the building, radio traffic was in the open. But when
someone doing triage reported "30 black" further discussions went to cell
phone -- for a short while. The landlines and cell services couldn't handle
the volume of traffic that hit all at once as people on campus called (or
tried to) to let parents and family know they were OK and worried parents
called their children to check on their status. This was before text
messaging was the more prevalent way to communicate. It was a number of
hours before things quieted down enough for people to be able to
communicate again. One of the more chilling things that the first
responders don't talk much about was working through the aftermath and
hearing the repeated ringing of cell phones from backpacks left behind.

Bruce in Blacksburg