인터넷 전화, 허리케인때도 버텼다

Verizon’s network was “performing well,” said a spokesman, Howard Waterman. “Some cells in areas that lost commercial power have backup generators helping us continue to deliver wireless service,” he said.

What at first could appear paradoxical — Twitter and Facebook users posting that they had lost power — was feasible thanks to smartphones, laptop computers and tablets. In the days leading up to the hurricane’s arrival, advice to charge all portable devices became almost as commonplace as old standbys like making sure flashlights had batteries and bottled water was in supply.

Indeed, many people who lost power and access to news on television could view news over the Internet on battery-powered computers or cellphones. People with mobile battery chargers in their cars could recharge.

The rise of mobile devices turns the conventional wisdom about landline telephones on its head. For decades, the landline phone was trusted to be more reliable than the electricity grid because the phone network’s dedicated power supply often survived blackouts. 

But the evolution of the landline — which first saw cordless phones (that do not work in blackouts) and Internet-based telephony (which requires a battery backup in case of blackouts) — has led to a decrease in its reliability. That hole has been filled, to some degree, by wireless voice and data networks.

NYT_Wireless Phone Networks Stood Up Well to

Hurricane

 

결론은 밑줄친 마지막줄. 블랙베리의 성공 뒤에는, 비상시에도 제대로 작동됐던 네트워크망이 한몫했다. 인터넷을 통한 커뮤니케이션도 그런 (끊기지 않을 것이란) 신뢰를 얻을 수 있을까? 솔직히 말하자면 아직은 아니다. 이번보다 더 강한 허리케인이 온다면 어떨까? ... 조만간 올해 일본 대지진 당시, 현장에서의 스마트 기기 상황을 점검해 봐야겠다.