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HomeMy WebLinkAbout022324 - Fw_ The Tech Friend_ Dust off the landlineALERT: BE CAUTIOUS This email originated outside the organization. Do not open attachments or click on links if you are not expecting them. Seems like a County Connections segment with Jeffcom 911 to explore the issues with cellular phones replacing landlines. ----- Forwarded Message ----- From: The Washington Post <email@washingtonpost.com> To: "deborahgpedersen@yahoo.com" <deborahgpedersen@yahoo.com> Sent: Friday, February 23, 2024 at 09:30:53 AM PST Subject: The Tech Friend: Dust off the landline Shira Ovide: Copper wires? In this economy? ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ <https://s2.washingtonpost.com/beacon/65d8d62d6acd4974d8b89705/5c6d96efade4e2384960fdf4/wp-logo.png> <https://sli.washingtonpost.com/click?s=869288&li=the-tech-friend&m=5c1a054cc849d55cf45262092ce90dae&p=65d8d62d6acd4974d8b89705> PUBLISHED BY <https://www.washingtonpost.com/?utm_campaign=wp_thetechfriend&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&wpisrc=nl_thetechfriend&carta-url=https%3A%2F%2Fs2.washingtonpost.com%2Fcar-ln-tr% 2F385a43c%2F65d8d62d6acd4974d8b89705%2F5c6d96efade4e2384960fdf4%2F1%2F30%2F65d8d62d6acd4974d8b89705> READ ONLINE <https://s2.washingtonpost.com/camp-rw/?trackId=5c6d96efade4e2384960fdf4&s=65d8d62d6 acd4974d8b89705&linknum=2&linktot=30> | SIGN UP <https://www.washingtonpost.com/newsletters/the-tech-friend/?method=SURL&location=ENL?method=SURL&location=ENL&auto=true> <https://www.washingtonpost.com/?utm_campaign=wp_thetechfriend&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&wpisrc=nl_thetechfriend&carta-url=https%3A%2F%2Fs2.washingtonpost.com%2Fcar-ln-tr%2F385a43c%2F65 d8d62d6acd4974d8b89705%2F5c6d96efade4e2384960fdf4%2F4%2F30%2F65d8d62d6acd4974d8b89705> Make your tech a force for good. <https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/shira-ovide/?utm_campaign=wp_thetechfriend&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&wpisrc=nl_thetechfriend&carta-url=https%3A%2F%2Fs2.washingtonpost.com%2Fcar-l n-tr%2F385a560%2F65d8d62d6acd4974d8b89705%2F5c6d96efade4e2384960fdf4%2F5%2F30%2F65d8d62d6acd4974d8b89705> By Shira Ovide <mailto:shira.ovide@washpost.com?subject=The Tech Friend%20feedback> Email <mailto:shira.ovide@washpost.com?subject=The Tech Friend%20feedback> <https://palomaimages.washingtonpost.com/pr2/f3b3f09c900d17cb8c35800b1b391af9-C45MDLAWM5MTGS64IBI6GEEPJE-1280-0.jpeg> People talk on cellphones on the Metro in 2005. (Haraz N. Ghanbari/Associated Press) During AT&T's nationwide cellphone outage on Thursday, <https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2024/02/23/att-outage-cause-error-not-cyberattack/?utm_campaign=wp_thetechfriend&utm_medium=email&utm_s ource=newsletter&wpisrc=nl_thetechfriend&carta-url=https%3A%2F%2Fs2.washingtonpost.com%2Fcar-ln-tr%2F3cd81e7%2F65d8d62d6acd4974d8b89705%2F5c6d96efade4e2384960fdf4%2F8%2F30%2F65d8d62d6acd4974d8b89705> multiple cities’ emergency services suggested using a landline if you needed to call 911. You might have thought: What landline? Only about a quarter of American households have a landline phone. <https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/06/23/landline-telephone-holdouts/?utm_campaign=wp_thetechfriend&utm_medium=email&utm_ source=newsletter&wpisrc=nl_thetechfriend&carta-url=https%3A%2F%2Fs2.washingtonpost.com%2Fcar-ln-tr%2F3cd81e8%2F65d8d62d6acd4974d8b89705%2F5c6d96efade4e2384960fdf4%2F9%2F30%2F65d8d62d6acd4974d8b89705 > About three out of every four calls to 911 are made from a cellphone, according to the Federal Communications Commission. But as Thursday's outage showed, mobile phones fail sometimes. So in cases of outages to electrical power or cell service, should we have a landline to call for help? <https://sli.washingtonpost.com/imp?s=1017553&li=the-tech-friend&m=5c1a054cc849d55cf45262092ce90dae&p=65d8d62d6acd4974d8b89705&stpe=static> <https://sli.washingtonpost.com/click?s=1017549&li=the-tech-friend&m=5c1a054cc849d55cf45262092ce90dae&p=65d8d62d6acd4974d8b89705&stpe=default> <https://sli.washingtonpost.com/click?s=1017549&li=the-tech-friend&m=5c1a054cc849d55cf45262092ce90dae&p=65d8d62d6acd4974d8b89705&stpe=default> After talking to experts, my conclusion is probably not — at least for most of us. Landlines fail, too, and they can be pricey or not a viable option where you live. But it's worth making a backup plan for calling in an emergency, or just to dial the burger place, when mobile service isn't working. Keep reading for tips on how to call and text during cell outages. Moments like Thursday’s wireless service outage also show that our fast-changing technology habits are a challenge to the capabilities of 911 services. Here’s what you need to know. How to call and text when you don’t have cellphone service If you have WiFi at home or work, you can typically route phone calls and texts that way. And if your WiFi is turned on, emergency services know where you are even if the call doesn’t go through. ADVERTISEMENT <https://sli.washingtonpost.com/click?s=869293&li=the-tech-friend&m=5c1a054cc849d55cf45262092ce90dae&p=65d8d62d6acd4974d8b89705> To turn on WiFi calling for an iPhone, go the Settings app and tap “Cellular.” Look for “WiFi Calling” and turn it on. On Android phones, try tapping the Phone app. From the three vertical dots in the upper right corner, select Settings. Select “Calls” and then “WiFi Calling.” Turn the setting on if it isn’t already. (The instructions may vary depending on which Android model you own.) Use your phone’s SOS service: If your cellphone service isn’t working, check if you have the “SOS” icon in the upper right corner of your phone. You can still dial 911. And with some newer iPhones, there’s an option to route emergency requests over a satellite connection <https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/11/15/iphone-satellite-sos/?utm_campaign=wp_thetechfriend&utm _medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&wpisrc=nl_thetechfriend&carta-url=https%3A%2F%2Fs2.washingtonpost.com%2Fcar-ln-tr%2F3cd81e9%2F65d8d62d6acd4974d8b89705%2F5c6d96efade4e2384960fdf4%2F13%2F30%2F65d8d 62d6acd4974d8b89705> . Have a backup cell provider in your home or a neighbor’s: Brian Fontes, CEO of NENA, an organization that represents 911 agencies, said that he planned to chat with a group of neighbors about which cellphone providers they have. That way, if one person has Verizon and that provider has an outage, she knows to reach out to a neighbor with T-Mobile. ADVERTISEMENT <https://sli.washingtonpost.com/click?s=869298&li=the-tech-friend&m=5c1a054cc849d55cf45262092ce90dae&p=65d8d62d6acd4974d8b89705> You can also consider having a second cellphone or Apple Watch on a different cellphone provider from your primary mobile phone. Use a calling app like WhatsApp, Zoom or FaceTime: It won’t help you reach emergency services, but if you want to call a buddy and have internet service at home or a coffee shop, you can still call and send messages. But what about a landline? It can be a great backup for emergencies, but consider the limitations, too. First, landlines do experience outages. Second, what is sometimes called “landline” service from a phone or cable provider might run over internet lines. (That’s what “VoIP” means.) If you lose power or internet service at home, your landline might not work. In some parts of the United States, phone companies are trying to phase out conventional landline service <https://s2.washingtonpost.com/3cd81ea/65d8d62d6acd4974d8b89705/5c6d96efade4e2384960fdf4/15/3 0/65d8d62d6acd4974d8b89705> or making it so expensive it may not be worthwhile. And some people with landlines say they're deluged by marketing calls. Our technology is a challenge to emergency services Not long ago, just about every call to 911 came from a landline phone number that was associated with your address. Emergency services knew where you were even if you couldn't speak. Now it's more complicated. Emergency services have to try to pinpoint where you are if you’re dialing 911 from a boat in the Gulf of Mexico, or if you’re on the 14th floor of an office building and not the 2nd. Emergency responders get automated 911 calls from Apple Watch devices and crash-detection services in cars. In some places, you can text 911. Most of the time, 911 centers know where you are. But sometimes they don't. “You're hitting on the deepest problem in 911,” said Jacob Saur, administrator of Arlington County Public Safety Communications and Emergency Management in Virginia. Tom Wheeler is one of nine former FCC commissioners who recently asked Congress <https://s2.washingtonpost.com/3cd81eb/65d8d62d6acd4974d8b89705/5c6d96efade4e2384960fdf4/16/30/65d8d62d6acd4974d8b89705 > to fund a digital modernization of 911 emergency response systems. They say the modernization will let emergency agencies always know your exact location, show responders the floor plan of a building on fire, and give medical teams the ability to do video call assessments of car crash scenes. Some 911 systems have those capabilities today. Others don't. “In our everyday lives as consumers, we have incorporated the benefits of digital technology,” Wheeler said. “Why haven’t we incorporated it into public safety?” (Wheeler said he’s an investor and adviser in RapidSOS, a company that provides technology to 911 centers.) <https://www.washingtonpost.com/newsletters/style-memo/?utm_campaign=wp_thetechfriend&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&wpisrc=nl_thetechfriend&carta-url=https%3A%2F%2Fs2.washingtonpost.com%2Fc ar-ln-tr%2F3b7128b%2F65d8d62d6acd4974d8b89705%2F5c6d96efade4e2384960fdf4%2F17%2F30%2F65d8d62d6acd4974d8b89705> YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE Style Memo <https://www.washingtonpost.com/newsletters/style-memo/?utm_campaign=wp_thetechfriend&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&wpisrc=nl_thetechfriend&carta-url=https%3A%2F%2Fs2.washingtonpo st.com%2Fcar-ln-tr%2F3b7128b%2F65d8d62d6acd4974d8b89705%2F5c6d96efade4e2384960fdf4%2F18%2F30%2F65d8d62d6acd4974d8b89705> Stay on top of the personalities, conversations and cultural trends that shape American life. 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