elray
join:2000-12-16
Santa Monica, CA Reviews:
 ·SONIC.NET
 ·RoadRunner Cable
| reply to hescominsoon
Re: Why would I pay $45? said by hescominsoon:said by elray:Except that your cell phone 911 will not work, and "the regular number" WILL NOT WORK when you have that life-threatening situation. I have the unfortunate opportunity to test these facilities more often than I'd like. Cell-phone 911 is not viable (yet). Dialing the PSAP directly is hit-n-miss, in other words, you can literally "die trying". Are you willing risk your life for $17 a month? (That's what we pay for Verizon POTS). typical fear mongering. I have nothing but cell phones and 911 has always worked just fine. I have had a couple of major accidents befall my family in the wintertime and the cell phone has always worked. I can tell you right now if there is a big enough calamity to take out all of the cell towers in my area the landlines are going to be gone as well(think katrina..landlines did you no good there..it was the HAM operators that saved the comm day there). No, real world experience. In Los Angeles, our police dispatch does not respond to cell phones well (911 doesn't route consistently, sometimes doesn't go through at all); the PSAP doesn't answer when you dial direct, and the local precinct won't dispatch. Only 911 from a landline results in a response when you need it.
I'm not concerned about Katrina-like situations. If one isn't personally prepared for such, no 911 system is going to help you, nor are a group of ham operators.
I'm worried about preventable, recoverable, everyday life-threatening situations that actually happen - heart attack, stroke, shootings, stabbings, fires, burglaries, and assaults. It is not that other technologies can't be made 99% reliable, but they just aren't, so far. |
