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With land lines down, survivors turn to Internet and SMS
With communication networks destroyed along much of South Asia's tsunami-ravaged coastline, getting messages of life and death across the globe has been challenging for family members and relief workers. But some messages are getting through, thanks to the creative use of relatively new technologies, including Internet blogs and text messaging, reports the The Chicago Tribune. "Because traditional land lines generally have one switch center where all calls are routed, an area's phone service may be wiped out if a cable is cut. Internet access operates on multiple routers; when one goes down, another picks up the traffic. "Broadband connections are more likely to be available and more sustainable in times of a disaster than a land line," said Annabel Dodd, author of "The Essential Guide to Telecommunications." News accounts have reported that trapped tourists also have used cell phones to send text messages to family. Text messages are sent using a different channel on a cell phone, Dodd said, and are transmitted in small enough bits that they are often more reliable than a wireless voice call." Links to all Tsunami/cell phone stories posted in Textually.org. |
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