New York: Cellular signal boosters can help keep communications
available during weather emergencies, creating a lifeline between storm
victims, their families, and emergency first responders even when a significant
percentage of cell towers are knocked out of service, as they were by Hurricane
Sandy.
"Cellular networks are a resilient and redundant
communications option available to the general public," according to industry expert Joe
Banos, "so
phones and other cellular devices can be a critical communications link during
weather-related emergencies."
Signal boosters can aide users by providing a more reliable
signal in weak-signal areas, and by accessing a signal from a more distant
tower should nearby towers get knocked out of service by extreme weather
conditions.
First responders commonly employ signal boosters in their
vehicles to ensure reliable data transfer – and a backup for voice
communications – needed to coordinate emergency response and rescue operations.
Private citizens use in-vehicle boosters to eliminate dead
zones in urban, suburban and rural areas. Their ability to create a strong,
reliable and stable signal from a weak one can give users access to the latest
weather information online, and help them call for needed emergency assistance
or communicate their safety to loved ones.
Signal boosters' value are storm-proven: When Hurricane
Irene battered the Caribbean and U.S. East Coast in 2011, the crew aboard a
booster-equipped vessel off Compass Cay in the Bahamas were the only mariners
in the area able to maintain cellular communications as the eye passed just 12
miles east.
The cell signal, originating from another island, was too
weak to allow voice calls, but did allow text messages to be sent and received.
The crew was able to get weather updates from Florida via text message, which
they then relayed to other boats in the area via radio.
Signal boosters also aided the clean up and recovery efforts
following Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Although cellular service in New Orleans
had been knocked out by the storm, utility vehicles working to restore power
were able to access signals from more distant undamaged towers across Lake
Pontchartrain to help coordinate repair work.