Eircom phones/mobile phones/emergencies

zing zong

ironclaw wrote: »

Mobile phones link into the wire systems. I doubt 112 / 999 centers have huge redundany e.g Sat links, direct GSM access.


At the end of the day, what piece of mind is to be gain by knowing the phone system will work? During 9/11 NYC's 911 system went down with a population of 8.3 million in addition to a super network because of Wall Street etc. What hope has Ireland?

In addition, I don't really understand how probing this thread has got into redundancy settings.

it makes no difference if they link into the wired system if the masts are not powered

and for the last time 999/112 is not the issue what good is that during war? it is friends and family you need to contact

rmacm

zing zong wrote: »

so my question is this, do mobile phones masts rely on the grid and if so do these have their own generators?

To answer this part of your question, yes masts and the equipment that go along with them rely on the power grid for their electricity supply. They can also be powered via battery or generator too. It's up to the operator to organise this though or else they can contract it out to their equipment provider.

zing zong wrote: »

we are still not sure for how long the back up power can be generated, so for now it seems that landlines/payphones seem more reliable, for a time atleast

Yes this is true, it depends on what kind of back up solution (if any) operators go for. Most of them will go for a back up solution though because if the power goes down and their customers can't make calls then the operator is losing out on profit and you'd be surprised how much money can be lost even during a short outage.

Don't forget they're also trying to keep costs down so a generator at every remote cell site and keeping it supplied with fuel probably isn't very cost effective so these would probably have a battery back up.

zing zong wrote: »

yes i am considering solar power, tho these posts are not "paranoid" war actually happens (news to you??)

as for charging by car, it may not be as easy as you imagine, during war

Expecting an invasion some time soon?

Be sure to let me know it might save me a flight home for nothing .

zing zong wrote: »

it makes no difference if they link into the wired system if the masts are not powered

Yes if the masts are dead then your mobile network is pretty much useless as there's nothing for your phone to connect to. I'm pretty sure people might need the emergency services during an emergency (I'm pretty sure war would qualify as one).

emaherx

zing zong wrote: »

we are still not sure for how long the back up power can be generated, so for now it seems that landlines/payphones seem more reliable, for a time atleast

same applies for fixed line exchanges, why would their back up last longer than a Masts.

zing zong wrote: »

a mobile phone will last a week for those that dont use it, otherwise 2/3 days, and during a time of emergency like war/civil unrest, you'll use it alot, so you might get a day or two, tops

I use my mobile, it lasts me a week on single charge. 2/3 days is probably longer than the backup of a fixed line exchange / mobile mast would work anyway.

zing zong wrote: »

yes i am considering solar power, tho these posts are not "paranoid" war actually happens (news to you??)

OK war happens, I can See Ireland being invaded. It must be for our huge oil reserves. Now you sound even more paranoid.

zing zong wrote: »

as for charging by car, it may not be as easy as you imagine, during war

If there is some reason why you can't get to your car i.e. the raging battle outside you probably wont be running to a pay phone, which has probably been vandalized by little SOB's who had no idea about the impending war.

Yes I can see it now! Battle outside, I think sod using my car, I'll walk into town to use a payphone instead.

Do you think if every car in your neighborhood has been burnt out that your local payphone will still be operational?

zing zong wrote: »

as for getting to a neighbour, it is friends and family i ,and im sure others would be more concerned about, in my part of the world

I wasn't suggesting you go to your neighbor for a chat, I meant you can use their phone or their car to power your phone. Then contact your family. This was not necessarily for a war situation just a prolonged power cut.

zing zong wrote: »

yes a good amount of phones are cordless, tho not most, and payphones obviously are not. the issue is, payphones/landlines are here but are dissapearing, when as far as this post has shown, are more reliable

More reliable??? How did this post show that.
yes pay phones are corded obviously, also due to their public nature are more likely to be out of order for some reason. (other than war)
nearly all phones if not all being provided by phone companies today are cordless, You'd be hard pushed to find a corded phone in a house these days.

zing zong

@rmacm

cheers for all the info!

ha ha not expecting war anytime soon, but believe it or not, it is always a possibility, and can happen without warning, we just dont have it on our minds generally (i didnt until the issue of the payphone removal came up)

civil unrest tho, not so far fetched in these times...

as for 999/112, yes of course they have a use during war, but for a short time only, as services like these disappear fast, and any info you want regarding food, shelter, safe places etc etc wont be gotten from them, and this is what you will really need

zing zong

emaherx wrote: »

same applies for fixed line exchanges, why would their back up last longer than a Masts.



I use my mobile, it lasts me a week on single charge. 2/3 days is probably longer than the backup of a fixed line exchange / mobile mast would work anyway.



OK war happens, I can See Ireland being invaded. It must be for our huge oil reserves. Now you sound even more paranoid.



If there is some reason why you can't get to your car i.e. the raging battle outside you probably wont be running to a pay phone, which has probably been vandalized by little SOB's who had no idea about the impending war.

Yes I can see it now! Battle outside, I think sod using my car, I'll walk into town to use a payphone instead.

Do you think if every car in your neighborhood has been burnt out that your local payphone will still be operational?



I wasn't suggesting you go to your neighbor for a chat, I meant you can use their phone or their car to power your phone. Then contact your family. This was not necessarily for a war situation just a prolonged power cut.



More reliable??? How did this post show that.
yes pay phones are corded obviously, also due to their public nature are more likely to be out of order for some reason. (other than war)
nearly all phones if not all being provided by phone companies today are cordless, You'd be hard pushed to find a corded phone in a house these days.

i am going to assume that you are either young, or have lived a strange sheltered life infront of bosco and blue peter

i however am retired army,

but thank you for the points you raised, i will keep them in mind

emaherx

zing zong wrote: »

i am going to assume that you are either young, or have lived a strange sheltered life infront of bosco and blue peter

i however am retired army,

but thank you for the points you raised, i will keep them in mind

If by strange sheltered life you mean one where I don't worry that removing pay phones is going to effect how I will survive a war then YES!

You being retired army has nothing to do with whether a fixed line communications service would have any advantage over a wireless one!

I made valid points in my posts. Mearly pointing out weaknesses in Modern fixed line communications during a power outage, don't know how this would reflect in my age.
Any infrastructure based communications service is likely to fail very early in a War.
Infact I'd imagine the first objective of any invading force would be to knock out such communications systems.

Also during civil unrest Public phones are very likely to be Vandalized or otherwise damaged.

I'll suggest that some form of high powered CB Radio a bank of batteries and some solar panels may be the only way to guarantee communications of any kind. May require your loved ones to do the same.

Congratulations on your retirement:)

zing zong

"If by strange sheltered life you mean one where I don't worry that removing pay phones is going to effect how I will survive a war then YES!"

well im sorry, but being informed is paramount for a civilian during war, you may want to consider it

"You being retired army has nothing to do with whether a fixed line communications service would have any advantage over a wireless one!"

i never said it did, the only reason i mentioned it at all was to point out that i have the experience and knowlege to know that war is possible, while you seemed to think of it as something crazy and abstract, but im afraid it is a simple fact of life

"I made valid points in my posts. Mearly pointing out weaknesses in Modern fixed line communications during a power outage, don't know how this would reflect in my age."

i didnt mention your age because of your views on communications, i mentioned it because of the way you expressed your outrage at something you found ridiculus, which was my trying to find out how reliable the mobile phone system would be

"Any infrastructure based communications service is likely to fail very early in a War."

not always, military comms are seperate, so civilian comms are usually not an imidiate priority

"Infact I'd imagine the first objective of any invading force would be to knock out such communications systems."

see above

"Also during civil unrest Public phones are very likely to be Vandalized or otherwise damaged. "

a few possibly, tho not destroyed beyond use

"I'll suggest that some form of high powered CB Radio a bank of batteries and some solar panels may be the only way to guarantee communications of any kind. May require your loved ones to do the same.

Congratulations on your retirement"

thanks a million appriciate it;)