Have California cell networks gotten to the point where they'll be able to handle the mass calling that follows disasters? Curious how people will contact emergency services and friends/family in the critical time following an earthquake/fire/etc.
When we had the rolling blackouts in the bay area a few years ago, Comcast's cable network was the first to go, but the cell network didn't last much longer.
it has always been difficult to contact emergency services following an earthquake / massive fire. it might actually be more scalable now. and you have more options of who/how to contact
On 2G/GSM, the whole network would drop for 30 minutes, just zero reception on the phone.
On 3G, you'd have reception but calls were impossible and texts mostly failed.
On 3G+HSDPA, texts also worked fine but data became unusable as people sent fireworks photos
On early 4G, not much changed from HSDPA since the networks were busier from more people using smartphones and social media
On LTE Advanced and 5G it's all a non-event now, everything works fine