Sheeple & the Defective 02 phone network

[NorthernRaider]

I cannot believe what I am hearing on TV and local radio today about the publics response to the broken down 02 phone network

Three women saying they wont let their kids go to school cos their cell phones are not working, shop staff being sent home, one silly cow crying because she could not get in touch with her daughter who has flu. Are the sheeple so insecure and utterly reliant on technology, Christ knows how the masses would react if the entire network went offline for more than a day !!!

[bigpaul]

we noticed yesterday broadband keeps going off, blue lights on the hub okay but kept getting a sign coming up saying something like this site is unavailable. OH rang helpline and they said rain is getting into the lines! have to unplug router wait for 30 seconds then plug it in again, that seems to cure the fault. as far as mobiles go i only use mine for emergencies so it dosent get used much, i'm not one for making phone calls, OH does all that

[Skean Dhude]

BP,

The point of having it for emergencies is that if there is an emergency it is working. I don't think the system will identify your emergency call as an emergency over everyone just calling and talking for free because they are bored because O2 does free O2 to O2 calls.

[bigpaul]

when TSHTF there will be a lot of people completely helpless cos the technology has all gone south especially when all the power goes down, can you imagine the sheeple running around in circles cos they can get Deadenders or Big Brother?personally i can live without technology, i was brought up in an age before mobiles, computers, x boxes, i pads, hell when i was a kid we didnt even have supermarkets!!

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(12 July 2012, 09:13)Skean Dhude Wrote: BP,

The point of having it for emergencies is that if there is an emergency it is working. I don't think the system will identify your emergency call as an emergency over everyone just calling and talking for free because they are bored because O2 does free O2 to O2 calls.

the point is SD that my mobile is taken for a walk more than it is used, i've had to use it once in the last 3 years and even then could have made alternative arrangements, i dont use it on a daily basis like a lot of people so i wont really miss it if the system went down...there are a lot of people who cant say that.

[Skean Dhude]

I know what you mean.

However, my prepping has never been used in anger either but I want it to work in an emergency.

I'm guessing though that like me emergency that needs a phone is not TEOTWAWKI emergency but rather you ran out of petrol or, worse case, phoning an ambulance. In which case it may end up as a poor copy of a phone. Not trying to teach you to suck eggs here.

[bigpaul]

(12 July 2012, 09:24)Skean Dhude Wrote: I know what you mean.

However, my prepping has never been used in anger either but I want it to work in an emergency.

I'm guessing though that like me emergency that needs a phone is not TEOTWAWKI emergency but rather you ran out of petrol or, worse case, phoning an ambulance. In which case it may end up as a poor copy of a phone. Not trying to teach you to suck eggs here.

no not TEOTW just a flat tyre-could have changed it myself but had OH in the car with loads of shopping so called out breakdown service, ran out of petrol? no chance of that-tank is never allowed to go below half empty! we use Virgin PAYG its the cheapest but coverage is not universal.

[NorthernRaider]

(12 July 2012, 09:13)Skean Dhude Wrote: BP,

The point of having it for emergencies is that if there is an emergency it is working. I don't think the system will identify your emergency call as an emergency over everyone just calling and talking for free because they are bored because O2 does free O2 to O2 calls.

The way I see this is that since the IRA, ETA, Al Quaeda etc started using cell phones as bomb detonaters and as means of coordinating attacks from multiple terrorists the government has set up ON/OFF switches for all cell networks that they control and can override the service providers. Thus having a cell phone for many emergencies is going to be a waste of time.

Imagine Al gebra and Al freco setting off a couple of bombs in Londonabad during the Olympics, you can be sure every ferkin cell system inside the M25 will get turned off.

AND, if they carry out spectaculars in more than one region they will turn off the entire system when WE need it most. This is why most uniformed services are now operating totally independent encrypted comms systems ( and rightly so).

This is why we need a reasonable medium range radio comms system that cannot be turned off unless the authorities jam the entire radio frequency spectrum. I want a CB that can do 10 to 15 miles for EmCom because cell phones are a fooking liability in our community.

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(12 July 2012, 09:14)bigpaul Wrote: ?personally i can live without technology, i was brought up in an age before mobiles, computers, x boxes, i pads, hell when i was a kid we didnt even have supermarkets!!

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They had not even invented steam engines when BP was a sprog

[bigpaul]

ah..steam trains-those were the days

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i think the point i was trying to make was that there are some among us (mainly the older ones) who have lived a life before mobile phones and computers, and when TSHTF will revert to that lifestyle without too much trouble, but there are younger people who have never known a time without this technology and especially amongst the sheeple this is a time when i believe we could see mass suicide, i have seen remarks on other sites from people who dont see the point of living if their standard of living was less than it is now.

[Skvez]

It's sad (but not unexpected) that the general public reaction to O2 going offline is to hit out at O2, not to re-think their dependence on a system they don't control.

In an attack on the infrastructure the powers that be are well capable of jamming the common transmission bands (such as CB) but I see no realistic alternative for us (an un-jammable stealth net is a security nightmare for TPTB so they invest millions ensuring that every technology is jammable/denyable).

Should a full collapse of infrastructure occur the jamming of frequencies would stop.

It's important to have contingency plans that work already in place rather than rely on being able to communicate with people to modify plans at the last minute.
"If something happens and you can head home, head home. If you can't head home, head to grandma's" sort of plans.

[bigpaul]

i think its quite funny that as soon as the O2 system goes down everyone with an O2 phone starts panicking, its this assumption that you have to be available 24/7, i think some people need to get a life, or at least "chill, man"