[Hidden-tech] Cell phone towers and power outages

[Robert Heller]

At Sun, 2 Aug 2015 08:19:31 -0400 ussailis at shaysnet.com wrote:

> 
> 
> 
> 
> While I only quickly skimmed the FCC doc, I offer:
> 
> 1. Reread paragraph 12.2(c)(7). Many cell sites are privately owned and
> leased to the major carriers. Do they come under these rules?
> 
> 2. When there is a good ice storm can the generator be refueled? Out here
> in the hinterlands "natural" gas service is usually not available
> everywhere. Propane or diesel only lasts so long.
> 
> 3. The FCC has proposed closing a bit more than 50% of its regional
> offices. That was reduced to a 50% closing, thanks to the ARRL. Since there
> are now few regional office, how many engineers are left to tramp out to
> some sites to check on the truth of a report?
> 
> 4. The FCC has become a lawyer org. In the past it had many engineers. 

The FCC is mostly populated by former employees of the telecoms.  Can you say 
'revolving door'.  I know you can...

> 
> If it sounds like I am down on the FCC, you are right! In the past one
> could count on the agency to fix problems, now you can count on then to
> write about it & pass unenforced rules.
> 
> What do I think about a copper based phone system. First, the phone lines
> are the lowest lines on the pole. They often last longer when trees &
> branches fall. In the past the phone company maintained a large battery
> bank at the CO. Now? I don't know, but the phone company sure lasts during
> power outages. Longer than my cell phone does!

OTOH, *Verizon* does as little maintance on the copper as they can get away
with (and it is probably cheaper to pay the fines to the utilities commission
than to pay to fix the copper landlines. Up in the hill towns the copper
landlines are often in terrible shape and people do lose service, often just
because it is just raining -- the phones go out, not because of trees falling
on the lines, but simply because of rain drops falling on the lines! *My*
phone line is so bad that I have to throttle my modem to 30KBits/sec, because
if it connects at higher speeds, it is unreliable (too many errors and/or it
completely drops the connection).

*Verizon* wants the copper to 'go away'.

*Verizon* wants wants you to get a cell phone.  *Verizon* does not want you to 
get a copper landline.

> 
> So, I do pay the high rate for a landline.
> 
> 
> Jim Ussailis
> 
> PS Antennae are for bugs, antennas are for radios. Sorry, that's an IEEE
> definition. 
> 
> 
> Original email:
> -----------------
> From: Karl Hakkarainen kh at queenlake.com
> Date: Sat, 1 Aug 2015 10:38:03 -0400
> To: bklee at azurelink.com, hidden-discuss at lists.hidden-tech.net,
> townwebsites at gmail.com
> Subject: Re: [Hidden-tech] Cell phone towers and power outages
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
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