Cell Phone coverage

[Barbs4339]

So I was trying to call my bother's cell phone in Minneapolis around 7:30 to give him Brewer updates like I do everyday and all I kept getting was static. I did not have knowledge of the bridge collapse at that time so I thought it was strange. Anyways, since everyone nowadays has a cell phone, can someone explain to me how satellite towers become overloaded making it not possible to make any calls? I can see how that can happen with land lines, but figured with todays technology that it would not happen with cell phones.

(added tag --1992)

[stoops17]

it might have been that so many people were contacting friends/family in that area that the local towers that communicate between the satellite and the actual cell-phone were overloaded, not to mention the rescue workers/officials probably were using cell phones also, along with victims. It was probably very chaotic and still is I guess.

[BillScottCanRake]

Anyways, since everyone nowadays has a cell phone, can someone explain to me how satellite towers become overloaded making it not possible to make any calls? I can see how that can happen with land lines, but figured with todays technology that it would not happen with cell phones.

The towers have limitations as to the amount of data they can send and receive. Those limitations may be higher than landlines (tho I am not sure if they are), but there are still limitations nevertheless.

 

I would imagine that because limitations do apply, most providers try to account for "normal usage" and then build a buffer of some sort to account for something unusual. But, I don't think they would try to account for nearly everyone in a given area trying to all use their cellphones at the same time. I can't imagine that it would be cost effective to build such a capability when it is so rarely used.

[1992casey]

I was surprised to find out that cellular transmissions are also carried over wires. Last January, a cut fiber optic line near Wausau blew out landline long distance and a lot of cellular transmission all over this part of the state. In the case of my cell, it went into a weird kind of roaming mode until the fiber optic line was fixed.

[TheCrew07]

Landlines actually carry far more data... fiber optic cable carries a vast amount of data, more than any other medium, even the best wireless is stone age slow by comparison. As others noted, the towers can only handle so many phone conversations at a time, with big news like that, depending on your provider, I could easily see how the cell network for that provider would get overloaded.

[Barbs4339]

Thanks for the input. Apparently I am cell phone ignorant even though I've had one for 10 years.