Cell Tower Overload
by Chris Guld, www.geeksontour.com
RV Rallies present major issues for Internet Access. Rarely is Wi-Fi provided throughout the rally grounds, and, when you try to use your Cellular provider for data, you may find it doesn’t work so well. That was our experience at the FMCA SE Area rally last week in Brooksville, FL. At times like these I wish we had our Satellite Dish back.
If you doubt that cell tower overload is a factor, check out this article on AT&Ts troubles due to all the iPhone users out there. Actually, this article has me a little worried about Verizon as well, once the Droid (Verizon’s answer to the iPhone) catches on. You see, once you have Internet browsing capabilities on your cell phone, you use it a lot more. When I use my phone to make a voice call, I’m on for 5 – 20 minutes. When Jim uses his new Droid to browse the web, he’s on for hours. Both usages connect to the Cellular Tower, but the data usage represents a quantum leap in loading the Tower’s connections.
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You may want to add not only are there lots of user at this type of event but there is the bandwidth difference between plain “phone use” and the higher bandwidth 3G data uses. It is all the IPhone type of web browser and computers user that is crowding the towers bandwidth.
Dusty
Cell Tower access reduction during an event is just a sample of what will
happen during a disaster. Alternate communications such as Amateur
Radio & Satellite are considerations./ga
I was using a Verizon Broadband Stick on a Mac at the Brooksville SEA Rally.
Verizon Tech Support could not explain the reason I could not connect or would suddenly lose the connection. They did not report or consider cell tower/server overload as a reason for the problem.
It’s always interesting to me at very large events- such as the Daytona 500 and speed weeks around here- Verizon and AT&T will bring in portable temporary cells transmitters to try to handle the traffic.
(Editorializing)- I do wonder about folks using 3G connections to watch TV- I mean talk about overkill..
We just took our maiden voyage in our 1995 Pace Arrow Coronado, and the 1050 mile trip through AZ and western NM was a blast! Your comments and info on the site were a big help and I wanted to thank you. Since we live at 7200 feet in the White Mountains of Arizona, my wife and I decided to get to lower elevation where it would be warmer and the oxygen concentration in the air would be higher. We stayed 8 days in the Catalina State Park, leaving just ahead of the heavy rain and snow melt that closed the park and stranded some campers for 3 days. I called the park three days after the event and they told me they were back in business. Good staff, wonderful views of the Catalina Mountains and easy shopping in Tucson. If you go, don’t miss the Pima Air Museum (we took the guided tour by shuttle).
Philip Staley,
I’m wondering if you talked to a Verizon Tech at the Rally, or just on the phone. Verizon had a booth at the Rally in the Vendor tent, and the guy we talked to freely admitted that the Towers were overloaded by the Rally.
Chris,
We were at the SE FMCA rally too, but didn’t have any trouble getting online. We are AT&T users and used an amplifier too (which my husband sells at argorv.com)., so maybe those differences helped. I really enjoyed your Picasa and Google Earth seminars. I learned alot!!
Jean
Chris,
I forgot, my husband used a Sprint aircard for the laptop. Our phones are AT&T (Iphone).
Jeann
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