[82558] in North American Network Operators' Group
Re: You're all over thinking this
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Steve Sobol)
Thu Jul 21 18:49:10 2005
Date: Thu, 21 Jul 2005 15:47:50 -0700
From: Steve Sobol <sjsobol@JustThe.net>
To: North American Networking & Offtopic Gripes <nanog@nanog.org>
In-Reply-To: <42DFF2AE.6040408@globalstar.com>
Errors-To: owner-nanog@merit.edu
Crist Clark wrote:
> <Gratuitous-Plug=Employer>
> If you really want high reliability during and after a natural disaster,
> satellite phones are probably your best option.
That's who I thought you worked for, but the only satellite phone provider
whose name I consistently remember is Iridium (aren't they bankrupt and/or
gone?)
Of course, you have issues with satellite phones too. Cost is one such
issue. Even when I signed up for my first cell phone in 1993, long before
the wireless boom, airtime was still only about 40 to 50 cents per minute[0]
- about 1/2 or 1/3 of what you'll pay per minute for a satellite phone
today, IIRC. (Please correct me if necessary!)
Another, potentially worse, problem occurs if you don't have line of sight
to the bird... that's precisely why I ended up with cable TV instead of
satellite when I lived in Lake County, Ohio - three *very* tall trees to the
south of my house, with DirecTV's satellite *and* Dish's satellite both
requiring line of sight to the southwest.
> during hurricane season. (Although I'd rather not slide into the
> discussion about how 911 works for us.)
It doesn't? ;)
**SJS
[0] All monetary figures quoted here are in US dollars
--
Steve Sobol, Professional Geek 888-480-4638 PGP: 0xE3AE35ED
Company website: http://JustThe.net/
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