|
|
Wireline Works as Fallback When Disaster Strikes
When the tsunami hit southeast Asia this week, it was instantly a disaster of historic proportions, and nothing could have prevented that. Likewise, when four hurricanes in a row hit the U.S. Gulf Coast, it was a disaster, reports Ziff Davis' "eWeek. "The difference, besides the scale, was that in the United States, we had a lot of warning. Companies that planned ahead could keep operating. One critical piece of a company's ability to operate is its access to communications. In southeast Asia, many areas have skipped the wireline infrastructure taken for granted in the United States and have moved directly to wireless communications. In the wake of the disaster, those people and companies without a wired backup are now finding themselves without communications at all. The reason has been seen in disasters for years, from 9/11 to the terrorist bombings in Spain to the Florida hurricanes to the tsunami. Even when cell sites survive the disaster, they are overwhelmed. And since emergency services get priority, your communications will suffer. The problem is that companies in the United States and elsewhere are considering abandoning their wired communications for new technologies, including VOIP (voice over IP) and wireless. But experience has shown repeatedly that of all of the technologies available to most businesses, only traditional, wireline communications can be counted upon during a disaster, and even there, it's by no means a sure thing." cf related Tsunami/cell phone stories posted in Textually.org. |
|
BULK SMS GATEWAY