To expand on this a bit - if you live in an area with EVDO digital wireless service - EVDO runs through a separate radio & delivery system from the CDMA voice system. CDMA is a circuit switched system. That is, each call requires a separate fixed circuit. Generally speaking, any network has a certain fixed number of circuits that have been installed to handle a peak number of calls (called busy hour call attempts). If an emergency drives the number of calls above the available number of circuits, the network jams.

EVDO is a separate RF system that feeds a separate IP network which avoids the circuit switching part of the network. There are usually fewer users, and the backhaul network is bigger. When you send a message on an IP system, it can sit in a queue to be transmitted when the network becomes available, even if only for a few seconds.

The practical upshot is that your odds of getting a msg out on an EVDO network are probably better than making a voice call in a jammed system.

I have a Tracfone as well, the cheapest most basic model. It gets a signal at my place of work, and most of my co-workers fancy phones do not. I rarely use a cell phone and got it primarily in case my truck breaks down. It serves its purpose well.

Cool thanks for the additional info.

"It has been posted that the phone schould not be activated..."

An unactivated phone isn't good for much. I think the cheapest cards ($20) are good for 3 months (correct me if I'm wrong, please). Just write on the card when it is due to expire, and do some "practicing" just before it runs out.

If they truly are good for three months, that would give you a year of security for $80. How much would you be willing to pay if you needed it and didn't have it? $80?

Sue

Well, an unactivated phone is good for dialing 911. In fact any cell phone (even if "locked" or deactivated) can dial 911 as long as you are in an area where you can get signal.

Justin

It's not necessarily true that if your cell phones "don't work" that "more than likely" the landline system is also useless. Your cell phone may "not work" because your battery is dead, you are someplace without cellular coverage, you are inside a building that does not get a decent cellular signal, the local cellular tower is overloaded with callers, the local tower is physically damaged or without electricity, etc. In all of these situations, the landline system may be working just fine. If that landline access is a payphone then a calling card (whether prepaid or not) will let you talk for a long time without worrying about having a pocketfull of coins. Or if you want to conserve your cell phone battery for critical calls, like during a long power outage, then you can use the calling card with a payphone when a payphone is available. Again, if you need to call long-distance on a payphone and talk for a while or make multiple calls, then you're out of luck unless you have a lot of coins handy.

What qualifies as an emergency for someone isn't necessarily a 911 emergency. Got two flat tires on the car and only one in the trunk?

Around here, the local tow company will charge you over $100 to get your car home.

Wouldn't you rather "Hey, Honey, could you grab that extra rim that's in the garage and take it down to Ernie's Tire Shop and have them put a XXXXXX tire on it, then bring it up to the old fishing hole?"

Try the 911 dispatcher with a request like THAT!

Sue

In all honesty, I'd rather say, "Hey, Honey, I have two flat tires and need you out here pronto to change them. The 911 dispatcher has offered to walk you through the steps."

Now that would be awesome...

I have a Virgin phone. They buy service and re-sell it. My phone system is different from tracphone in that for $15 every 90 days (with their automated payment system), I get 18-cent-a-minute calls that roll over as long as I pay that fifteen bucks every 90 days. Right now I've got over 80 dollars in calling capacity, so I'll have to start making some calls. :-> I don't have a long distance carrier on my landline and use the Virgin phone for long distance. So far, I'm ahead of the game, but that'll vary on individual use. (I realize there are cheaper long distance services, but the Virgin phone is for emergencies, so I factor that cost into long distance at 18 cents. Long distance is free.)

My wife has a Cingular phone, so we have different carriers. Sometimes I get a signal and she doesn't, so I like having different carriers.

My expectation in my area is an earthquake. I expect landlines and cellphones not to provide a dial tone for a long time after the big one for a number of reasons discussed in this thread. An acquaintance of mine lived in Manhattan during a big power outtage there, and he said people were using cellphones to light their way into darkened building looking for payphones - they still worked even when home phones and cell phones didn't give a dial tone.

Bring your own quarters, and call someone out of town so they have a working phone to answer. I have tried to use a pre-paid card at payphones that won't dial an 800 number because the owner of the phone won't get paid enough. shrug - be prepared with quarters and pre-paid cards. There's no one answer.

Cell carriers like to respond to disasters in a big way and be the first to get their service back up and brag about it, so I suspect cells would come back before landlines if the landlines are destroyed. (COW - cells on wheels.) My expectation, though, is that demand will far exceed dial-tone-ability, so who knows when useable service will reappear.

I think there is no one answer, so having back up systems seems like a good idea. A cellphone from a different carrier, pre-paid cards, quarters, and get a ham radio license. Sit back and contemplate the current status of New Orleans. My expectation is that if we have a huge earthquake in the San Francisco Bay Area, we'll be like New Orleans in terms of recovery.