[OH-KY-IN] Fw: [pr:9096] FCC Cell phone backup proposal and ARES

[Bruce Vanselow N8BV]

The information below was taken from the ARRL Public Information Officer
reflector.  I thought it to be rather interesting so I thought I'd share
it with you.
      73,  .....  Bruce  N8BV
 
--------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "N2COP" <n2cop at ec.rr.com>
To: "pr list" <pr at reflector.arrl.org>
Date: Mon, 10 Mar 2008 08:45:26 -0400
Subject: [pr:9096] FCC Cell phone backup proposal and ARES

Dear Fellow PIOs:

The Associated Press ran the story below last Friday (March 7, 2008).  I
don't see any action that needs to be taken now with this, but the story
is
definitely worth watching as to future impact on ARES operations and how
ham
radio operators respond in a widespread disaster.  

As a result of Hurricane Katrina, the FCC is ruling that all 210,000 cell
phone towers in the nation be equipped with 8 hours of back-up
capability.
The cell phone industry is rebelling from a cost standpoint.  A cell
phone
executive is quoted as saying that in metropolitan areas where cell
traffic
can be heavy during and after a disaster, the amount of batteries needed
to
sustain 8 hours of talk time would equate to 1,500 lbs.  Since so many
cell
repeaters are located on roof tops, most roof top installations can't
sustain that much weight.

Feel free to use a search engine to research more on this topic.  As of
this
morning there were 246 related articles on Google News since last
Friday's
original AP story, an excerpt of which is shown below.  Please share this
information with your club and local ARES organization.  The information
clearly shows the superiority of amateur radio following a widespread
disaster.  Even if the cell phone industry completes full 8 hour
sustainability, there will continue to be disasters that last much
longer.

TNX es 73,

Bill Morine, N2COP
PRC Chairman

Cell Carriers Fight Backup Power Rule
By DAVID TWIDDY - 2 days ago 
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - When Hurricane Katrina assaulted the Gulf Coast
in
2005, wind and flooding knocked out hundreds of cell towers and cell
sites,
silencing wireless communication exactly when emergency crews and victims
needed it.
To avoid similar debacles in the future, the Federal Communications
Commission wants most cell transmitter sites in the U.S. to have at least
eight hours of backup power in the event main power fails, one of several
moves regulators say will make the nation's communication system stronger
and more reliable.
Two and a half years after Katrina and eight months after the FCC's
regulations were first released, the two sides are still wrestling with
the
issue.