Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Phone systems and TEOTWAWKI

Quick post for the moment. I got to thinking that I should get a land line for a backup to my cellphone, but then I realized that odds are that won't work either.

The original POTS (Plain Old Telephone System) was what we call "click and bang" where relays used to make connections. Nowadays all of this is handled by computer systems. These computer systems are just as fragile as any other computer, so if you are counting on a phone for communications in a EMP or solar storm scenario I have one suggestion: Don't.

If your phone system can handle DSL connections it certianly has been upgraded to computers. If you cannot handle DSL at all, then you might still have the click n bang.

I got some contacts with Verizon, I'll have to see what they have for backups and such. If I get any info I'll be more than happy to pass it along.

2 comments:

Mayberry said...

Radio......

Natog said...

Looks like I might need to invest in HAM radio, my family is all over creation, well out of the 15 mile limit the best of the non-regulated radio...