myerston@cts.sri.com (10/20/89)
The following is my opinion of the earthquake aftermath based on
talking to many fellow Telecom folks in the area (SL-1 Users, TCA and
many vendors):
o I found 0 instances of properly installed PBXs and other gear
suffering major damage. I am sure there are some but either the whole
building has been evacuated or the damage has not been discovered.
o MANY people had power-related problems beyond the capacity of the
battery backup. Many PBXs do not handle power loss and subsequent
restoral well. Many cards fail shortly after the event.
o Traffic has to be controlled in the Network or at the Central
Office. No amount of training or lecturing is going to stop users
from checking on their family and friends immediately after an event.
o Central dispatch/Trouble Numbers, usually 800- numbers are useless
in a major event. Even when you can call in to them, they cannot call
IN to the appropriate people in your area. Same for remote paging.
LOCAL contacts are a must.
o Cellular overloaded worse than land lines.
o Carriers who controlled traffic took (in my opinion) a bum rap. The
resellers mentioned in previous messages were able to complete calls
only because the underlying carrier maintained some measure of Network
Discipline.
o One interesting side effect of telecom problems was the issue of
ATMs. Many people really on them almost exclusively for ready cash.
Loss of service (computer or line) is attributed to "the phone lines".
o I was called by several present (and former!) interconnect
contractors offering help within 24 hours. Most had more man-power on
hand than required. MITEL is running large ads offering 24-hour
turn-around on repairs.
o Radio, I think, did great. Not to much panic or exageration.
Amazingly enough from the time I got home about two hours after the
earthquake I was able to watch local TV coverage using an outside
antenna. While some stations came and went, at least one was on the
air at all times. [I live in the South Bay 20 - 30 miles from the
epicenter, we lost stuff from shelves etc but did NOT lose power
through all of this].
All-in-all it seems like telecom was more part of the solution
than of the problem. Of the people I know I would say almost all are
now fully operational including the ones in SF after power restoral.john@zygot.ati.com (John Higdon) (10/22/89)
In article <telecom-v09i0465m01@vector.dallas.tx.us>, myerston@cts.sri.com writes: > The following is my opinion of the earthquake aftermath based on > talking to many fellow Telecom folks in the area (SL-1 Users, TCA and > many vendors): > [...] > o Cellular overloaded worse than land lines. Not GTE Mobilnet. In fact, I found my handheld to be much more useful than any of the landline telephones that were at the various sites. It *never* failed to complete a call at anytime after the event. In fact, some of my initial info obtained before I returned to the area was from calling people with cellular phones. I understand that Cellular One (PacTel Mobile) had some major problems and was asking people through the media to avoid using their cellular phone except for emergencies. > o Carriers who controlled traffic took (in my opinion) a bum rap. The > resellers mentioned in previous messages were able to complete calls > only because the underlying carrier maintained some measure of Network > Discipline. Unfortunately, it's the results that count. If you can't make calls on one carrier and you can on another, all of the reasons, justifications, self-congratulations, reputations, and press relations don't count for one damn. The carrier that completes my calls when another won't gets my thanks and deserves my patronage. > o Radio, I think, did great. Not to much panic or exageration. > Amazingly enough from the time I got home about two hours after the > earthquake I was able to watch local TV coverage using an outside > antenna. Shortly before I returned to the area, I watched KABC-TV out of LA. They were in "continuous coverage" mode and were switching to sister-station KGO-TV for periods of time. The San Francisco anchor people were professional, calm, informative and even under adverse conditions and a lack of commercial power, were able to produce an on-the-fly report with continuity and smoothness. When they would cut back to the Ken and Barbie anchors in LA, they talked in over-dramatic tones, and were almost a parody of themselves. As a southland resident later said, "You would have thought the quake was in LA." John Higdon | P. O. Box 7648 | +1 408 723 1395 john@zygot.ati.com | San Jose, CA 95150 | M o o !
lear@net.bio.net (Eliot Lear) (10/23/89)
It's true that GTE Mobilenet didn't appear to suffer any damage. However, they certainly did max out shortly after the quake. My guess is that they were having problems getting PacBell circuits, like the rest of us. HOWEVER! I *was* able to call long distance almost immediately after the quake, from my Celphone. Eliot Lear [lear@net.bio.net]