A Reliable Wireless Infrastructure Should be Top Priority

Did you know that on top Mount Everest you can get a cell phone signal, but in some places across the United States the words “no signal” flash across your phone every few seconds? Mount Everest, the tallest mountain on Earth reaching 29,029 feet above sea level, gives you the opportunity to make phones calls for emergency and instagram a picture or two. However, some communities fight tower companies and mobile carriers who try to provide excellent coverage simply because they don’t like the way the tower looks. Sometimes, aesthetics isn’t the most important thing. Last month in Manali, India, four people were stranded in a blizzard while crossing the Rohtang Pass; they were able to inform agricultural department officials about their location after the mobile phone network was restored. The survivors were found underneath 40 to 60 inches of snow. Having a reliable cell network saved their lives. While it can be obnoxious to have someone on their phone while you’re enjoying the view atop Everest or hiking the trails of the Yellow Stone National Park, keeping patrons safe should be the number one priority. The CTIA is working to maintain a reliable network across the U.S., They believe to achieve this, “carriers should build redundant networks where appropriate, which will allow them to rapidly and dynamically reroute traffic based on needs and capacity constraints during times of potential overload. In addition, wireless networks often utilize overlapping cell sites within a market, particularly in urban areas, to provide maximum capacity. Because of this careful strategic planning in constructing networks, cell sites are not necessarily a major single point of failure in many areas, and the redundancies implemented by service providers help networks to remain operational even in the event of individual cell site failure.”