[EAS] Cell Reliability

[Bill Ruck]

Saw this in an email today from IEEE Tech Alert:

When Hurricane Harvey struck land in southeast 
Texas on Friday, ferocious winds and rain nearly 
obliterated the telecommunications network in 
Aransas County, a coastal community that lies 
directly in the storm’s path. Only one of the 
county’s 19 cell towers was still working on 
Saturday, according to 
<https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=11&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjorvHswfzVAhUBeyYKHRz8B8oQFgheMAo&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fcc.gov%2Ffile%2F12805%2Fdownload&usg=AFQjCNFXE2X7UYTqJaprmdubyWjzmwQEtw>a 
report [PDF] by the Federal Communications Commission.

A day later, as the storm continued to batter the 
region with rain that the National Weather 
Service has called “unprecedented,” 
<https://apps.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-346369A1.pdf>85 
percent of towers [PDF] in nearby Refugio and 
Calhoun Counties also went offline.

Before the storm, wireless carriers took careful 
steps to prepare, filling backup generators with 
fuel and stationing response crews in the area. 
And throughout the past four days, they have 
managed to keep most cell towers running­the FCC 
estimates about 5 percent of cell towers in the 
official disaster area are not functioning.

The three hardest-hit counties­Aransas, Refugio, 
and Calhoun­were under 
<http://www.wfaa.com/weather/city-of-port-aransas-orders-mandatory-evacuation/466984235>mandatory 
evacuation orders when the hurricane hit land. 
Still, anyone who remained in the area, and the 
first responders who are trying to assess damage, 
can most likely not count on reliable cell service at this critical time.

We all know that the cellular industry pushes 
back from being required to have high reliability 
and backup power.  Yes they do have generator 
connections at most cell sites and a few mobile 
generators in a yard somewhere but they do not 
have full backup power everywhere.

That is why when bad things happen any cellular 
based system -- even FirstNet -- is doomed.

Bill Ruck
Curmudgeon
San Francisco