Updated: Aug. 26, 2011

By Dugald McConnell and Brian Todd, CNN
Original publication date: Aug. 25, 2011

Washington , D.C. — The Federal Communications Commission says it is looking into the failures of cell phone service that occurred Tuesday afternoon after the East Coast earthquake. For as long as an hour after the quake, wireless customers in Washington and elsewhere reported being unable to get calls through.

Jamie Barnett, chief of the FCC’s Public Safety & Homeland Security Bureau, said that when the cell phone networks get overloaded by call volume, crucial calls might fail to go through.

“We were very concerned with the fact that 9-1-1 calls were also congested,” he said. “We want to make sure that people who need emergency help are able to get it.”

Although the congestion might not have jeopardized any lives in this particular incident, he said, “these are the moments when mobile phone service is needed most — and disruptions puts lives at risk.”

Major phone carriers conceded that wireless service was problematic on Tuesday, but they blamed it on too many calls being placed at once, rather than any damage to their networks or infrastructure.

Steve Largent of the industry’s Wireless Association said that it was comparable to a flood of cars causing a traffic jam at rush hour. “A huge number of users were trying to use the same highway at the same time, which caused the jam,” he said.

He argued that one solution would be to apportion more bandwidth to the wireless industry. “With more spectrum, we’d have more lanes that would allow more users,” he said.

But University of Maryland engineering professor Ashok Agrawala said that solving the problem was not that simple.

“Whichever system you design has a finite capacity,” he said. Moreover, he said, “if they built a capacity which can handle the peak load that we had at the time of the earthquake, most of the time, most of that system will remain idle. And that will be expensive,” he said, making everyone’s phone bills go up.

Still, why don’t 911 calls get priority over all other cell phone calls?

“There should be some way to prioritize it for emergency calls,” said FCC’s Barnett. “Technology is on the way, called LTE, that would allow it to go to the top of the cue.” He said the FCC is asking the major cell carriers to consult with them on implementing it.

With Hurricane Irene bearing down on the East Coast, just days after that earthquake, residents might wonder whether the same problem will strike again. Since a storm does not strike at a single instant, a sudden overload of calls is less likely. But if cell phone towers are affected, wireless callers could again face trouble getting through.

Officials and phone companies suggest that customers who can’t get a connection should try texting instead.

On Tuesday, @FEMA tweeted this: “Reminder: If cell phone service is busy, text or e-mail friends/family to let them know you’re OK.”

How can text messages get through, even when phone calls can’t?

A live, two-minute phone call takes a full two minutes to transmit — it can’t be shortened, and it can’t be time-shifted.

But a 100-character text can be transmitted in a fraction of a second, and can be put in a cue to be transmitted whenever a free route is identified.

Sprint spokeswoman Crystal Davis said, “We could get roughly 30-50 text messages (if not more) sent in the same period of time a call would take place.” 

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RELATED STORY From the APCO International:
Earthquake Underscores Need for Public Safety Network

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Aug. 23, 2011 – Today’s magnitude 5.9 earthquake in northern Virginia once again underscored the critical need for allocating the D Block spectrum and funding to public safety to build a nationwide interoperable broadband network, announced the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO) International. This moderate earthquake, which was felt from North Carolina to Toronto and beyond, demonstrates why first responders need a nationwide interoperable network.  A more severe earthquake could have resulted in devastating loss of life and property in the heart of our Nation’s Capital.

What was immediately apparent to the hundreds of thousands of people who flooded the streets after the quake was that their cell phones and wireless data networks did not work because of severe congestion. Commercial wireless networks quickly became overloaded and people were not able to call, text or email their friends and family.

While there was no reports of outages or congestion on public safety radio systems, there was an impact on first responders and emergency personnel who relied on their commercial cell phones and data cards to communicate with their colleagues and families.  Clearly, public safety cannot rely on commercial networks during critical incidents and major events, as they cannot gain access to roam onto or gain the level of priority access necessary to be effective in such incidents. Last years filing by the New York City Police Department (NYPD) to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) listed more than a dozen occasions since 9/11 where commercial networks have been overloaded.  Finally, Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs) in the region were flooded by non-emergency 9-1-1 calls from the general public asking information about the earthquake. This tied up 9-1-1 lines and may have delayed responses to actual emergencies.

Public Safety organizations and state and local officials throughout the United States have repeatedly asked Congress to enact legislation that would provide for the creation and funding of a nationwide, interoperable communications network before the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks – which is just 18 days away. Congress has authorized the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to oversee spectrum management for commercial, private, and non-federal government use, which is why public safety and state and local governments are petitioning Congress to allocate additional spectrum to public safety, consistent with the bipartisan 9/11 Commission recommendation.

“The events of today once again prove how powerful the argument for dedicated spectrum is for public safety, and becomes so understandable for those today that tried to reach their loved ones by wireless devices and could not do so,” said APCO International spokesman Sean Kirkendall.

Numerous first responders were stymied and forced to wait to communicate during today’s emergency efforts.  Hundreds of thousands of mobile phone consumers trying to contact loved ones could not get through due to overcrowded wireless networks. Clearly, public safety cannot rely on these same commercial networks during critical incidents and major events, as they cannot gain access to roam onto them or gain the level of priority access necessary to be effective in such incidents.

“Congress needs to give top priority and pass S.911:  The Public Safety Spectrum and Wireless Innovation Act of 2011 now” Kirkendall continued.  “How many more warnings, close calls and critical incidents do we need before Congress breaks through the politics as usual and acts for the good of the nation’s safety, citizens’ safety, and for the protection and effectiveness of our first responders?”

For more information on a Nationwide Public Safety Broadband Network, visit www.apcointl.org and www.psafirst.org.