With Superstorm Sandy over with, it is now recovery time for
the East Coast. Especially those in the
business of technology. Websites who are
mainly located on the East Coast have temporarily shut down and some cell phone
service has been lost in many areas.
There are still some service in many areas, but for how long?
For the time being, most cell towers that are still
operational are only able to be because of generators. These generators running on gas are likely to
run out at any time and with all of the flooding, there is no telling how soon
they will be refueled. It is very
possible that many more areas will lose cell service due to lack of power.
Speaking of power, how are people charging their phones
anyway? Well, it is something wonderful
to witness when there are people who actually have some kind of power providing
power strips for people to use to charge their phones. This just goes to show that there is hope for
humanity.
Cell phone companies are working around the clock to assess
and fix the situation, not that it will help without any power in certain
flooded areas. They are required to
report any outage information to the FCC, but they have not been as vocal to
the public. Public statements have been
made that have given less than helpful information. For example, Verizon has said that 94% of
cell sites were up and running in storm affected areas (again, for how long
because of the generators?).
As for other forms of communication, including television
and internet, they are in the same boat.
Again, Verizon gives an example of how they are doing with their lower
Manhattan facility saying that the situation is looking "bleak". However, one company has thrived during this
outage. All along the east coast,
Netflix subscribers have been streaming more and more. I guess you have to find some form of
entertainment without any channels available.
DJ
Source: CNN
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