[FlagDayNCO]

Good point of discussion. Something that has been happening for years is the limiting of band width during high traffic scenarios. CellCo usually has a fix, but they have to be involved.

Example One is a major snowfall in recent years, catching many still at work. We all knew snow was inbound, but the weather fronts changed course and the snow came down like no one had ever believed. Roads were clogged for hours, snow plows couldn't get in, gas station ran out of fuel, etc. Through all of this, everyone was on their cellular device trying to call. The network couldn't handle the traffic.

We knew that SMS text messaging would be the best option, so we started texting message traffic.

Example Two is Sandy. My work truck has mobile SATCOM for scenarios where the cellular system couldn't handle our traffic. Well... The cellular system went down in patches, as power went out. The other side of the coin was CellCo prioritized business and government traffic.

Now, many State Police vehicles have mobile repeaters in them, so they could operate if their land based system went down. Problem they ran into was they still had limited range.

Compounding everybody was the amount of traffic flooding the various systems.

Mobile SATCOM? Was only as good as the people on the system. I wound up talking to no one the first day. Just like a battle scene, there was so much interference the SATCOM didn't work.

Now, Feds had their FEMA trucks with insane comms equipment. Some didn't work and some wasn't monitored. Craziest thing was they had a Million Dollar SUV with all types of equipment in it, but had to pay cash going through tolls, after waiting in traffic for hours. No one ever thought about EZPass.

I think HAM is still the best option, especially organizing into networks for local and regional comms. Expect interference/ jamming if Gubmint decides it is not in their interest.