Chaosmagnet, this isn't the first time I have seen cell coverage go down in an emergency. I used to live in London, in 2005 after the bombs the cell network was shut down for a few hours. I understand the cell networks were unusable after 9/11. I just don't want to rely on them!
Where you live this is perfectly sensible. Where I live, relying on POTS telephony would be unwise. That's all I meant.
Outstanding after-action report, by the way. Thank you.