In the "you couldn't make this stuff up dept."
My wife works for a government agency and frequently is out on-site in remote areas.
So for safety they have a policy of phoning in, to report, before leaving the last site.

They were recently told that they must not use SMS anymore because it is too expensive (apparently the government can't negotiate some sort of discount with the cell providers to get free minutes - well it's not like they are a big customer or anything!)

So now they must call in and wait while a receptionist answers - so we save 10c on the SMS but now waste the time of two employees, sounds like government as usual.

Next problem. They are in a remote area with little or no cell coverage, although SMS usually works - this was pointed out to managers.

The solution came through today - they are looking at fitting the trucks with satellite phones!!!


I'm pretty sure this is how the stealth bomber came about. "General we have had complaints that our fighters are interfering with Mrs Smith's garage door opener, the solutions are to buy her a new one from HomeDepot or develop a new $billion aircraft that doesn't reflect radio waves".