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Comments
cell phones saving us from sharks?
those beaches are down dunes and usually a decent distance from the parking lots/roadway. im not sure this kid could have been saved if EMS had already been there in the parking lot.
maybe put in some old school payphones for emergencies?
the cape has a major problem on their hands and i don't think cell phone towers are going to solve this problem.
Is there actually a lack of cell coverage?
I've not been without service on the Cape (Verizon). The coverage range is going to be best in flat areas without obstructions, like the Cape's beaches.
They have stand-alone emergency phones which are powered by a small solar panel and don't need wired connections to anything. Many towns have replaced fire boxes with these since there's little maintenance.
Poor service on the outer dunes
There is sketchy service on the outer beaches. When I do an organized ride every year and we have our rest stops at two of the beach heads, the people running the rest stops always have radios because of the coverage dropping out on the eastern beaches. I have to wait until I get to PTown before I can post the team pics taken at White Crest and Highland Light.
General rule is that you won't have cel service to the east side once you drop below the crest of the central - and highest - dunes of the outer cape.
Yes, there is a problem with
Yes, there is a problem with cell coverage. I have no service in South Chatham and spotty service throughout the Cape. It's a safety and an economic development issue. Hard to work remotely with poor connections.
Because maybe if sharks had
Because maybe if sharks had better cellphone coverage in the ocean then they won't all gather closer to shore?
They would know where the seals are
And they could avoid the human zones.
I think payphones are a good
I think payphones are a good idea as well. However if a grown adult, as this man was, is determined to swim in the ocean despite the numerous shark warnings, then there's little anyone can do to stop his risky decision.
friends
recently returned from the cape. they reported watching sharks, large sharks, eat on several occasions a short distance from the beach over the course of several days. they reported that people were in inner tubes in defiance of a posted warning and involving a life guard's warning--that latter part is not clear to me, but it seemed that people were still using the "amenity" of the Atlantic ocean when it was suggested they take a break from doing so.
I keep hearing how rare shark attacks are. but I can't seem to think of it as rare when there are a lot of them gathered up because there are a lot of seals.
so sorry for the family's loss, and i don't begrudge anyone trying to think through how to make EMS services easier to obtain
Sharks
There must be a way to kill them or the seals so there's no activity near the shore.
Maybe if we killed all the wabbits
We could solve the coyote problem.
Or so some guy named Elmer that owns a mansion and a yacht told me.
(Guessing that wasn't "our" Elmer.)
Or
We could just let the wilderness be wild and accept that there's an inherent danger in going into the ocean in some places.
No cell service at the 'Comah.
just south of where the attack occurred.
Should be better
Cell service at Nauset beach is sketchy, which makes the Sharktivity App kinda useless. The outer Cape towns should pressure the mobile providers to beef up the coverage.
Cell phone coverage not the problem
My sympathies to the victim and his family and friends. Seemed like a nice guy by all accounts. A few things. We've been warned about sharks off Cape Cod since Jaws or the fatal attack in the 1930s. Much coverage on TV news in recent years including attack a few weeks before this. I believe the fatal victim's aunt was on TV saying she warned him.
Second, in some cases, a victim is "not viable." We see this on Adam's homicide reports in Boston where cell coverage is fine, EMS and hospitals top notch. I believe from texts from public safety friends, Medflight was canceled (no chance) and the shark victim was instead rushed to Cape Cod Hospital while CPR was in progress.
Neighbors don't want cell towers understandably. One solution might be the old fashioned Gamewell telegraph system still used by Boston Fire on street corners. It even works during power failures. Pull the hook on the red box and help arrives. A lot of college campuses use them (red/blue boxes). I'm no electrical engineer but I'm sure they could figure out an unobtrusive, reliable way of getting police, fire and public safety to the Cape beaches without a cell tower.
Yep I agree
Yep I agree. I'm a T-Mobile subscriber, and until 2016, T-Mobile coverage was HORRIBLE. Esp on the outer cape (i.e. Provincetown, Eastham, Wellfleet). Coverage was restricted to the lower cape, Hyannis, and Sagamore. If you got a signal on the outer cape, I can guarantee it was along the water and your signal came from the lower cape.
Friends with Sprint had similar results.
in 2016, T-Mobile added 600mhz service to the cape (one of the few areas to be 100% 600mhz), what a difference. My phone works everywhere, and works even better than most Verizon and AT&T people. Even works in places where AT&T and Verizon do not have service. (i.e. inside Stop & Shop in Ptown).
I tell you this because I'm at the beach at Lands End or Herring Cove. We're pretty far from town when there, and service is iffy. It works in the parking lot, but not at the beach itself. Seems like T-Mobile tuned their towers to stop service RIGHT at the edge of the parking lot. (and I still had 3 bars). The minute I get over the dune, forget it.
Verizon and AT&T are not much better, many AT&T users say their phone stops working along Lands End Road. Verizon seems to have the best coverage out there, but again, rarely works along the beach.
Its time for the gov't to step in and start to force carriers to setup service for emergency reasons, not just for 'where my paying customers are'. We've driven out landlines and pay phones.. now mobile phones need to fill in the security gap.
Most of the infrastructure exists on the cape to make cell phones work at the beach.. its up to the providers to do it.
Actually you're talking about
Actually you're talking about T-Mobile's 700MHz service, which was deployed three years ago. Last year T-Mobile spent eight billion dollars for coast to coast 600MHz service which it is now deploying as the frequency becomes available.
Of course this requires handsets capable of receiving these frequencies.
For example Apple iPhones before the 6S don't offer 700MHz, and it isn't until Friday's launch of the iPhone XS/XS Max will Apple have a 600MHz handset. T-Mobile Android handsets released in the past five years typically have 700MHz, and the past year 600MHz.
This is relevant because when folks share coverage anecdotes they're often unaware not only do location and carrier matter but also handset model and even service plan (supported roaming etc.)
Regarding payphones at beaches, that would require running a phone line to the beach, an expensive proposition in a time when Verizon is abandoning their landline business.
Furthermore I don't know about others but I'm rarely carrying change at the beach leaving the payphones without, er, a paying source of revenue.
Emergency 911 calls are free from a payphone
It's required by law.
There are many places in N.E. where the cell phone service
is non-existent or scant. Case in point: Camping in upstate Vermont. No cell phone service at the sites. Luckily, there are rangers during the season, but there are many places out in the VT boonies that do not have cell phone service or where the cell phone service is scant. So when I am walking and/or running, on those quiet and beautiful country roads, I know my risks.
The issue is that there are always going to be people who do not and/or will not heed the warning signs not to enter the water due to the possible fact that you will be bitten and/or killed by a shark. One can't legislate foolish behavior.
There is coverage
There's coverage, but many "urban" providers do not have service up there. Even legacy carriers like AT&T and Verizon are spotty.
There's a reason why US Cellular and Tracfone are very popular up there. Because it works, when other carriers do not.
Also, many people I know (I am from rural NH) who live that far out, have satellite phones for this purpose alone. It's very expensive, but when you need to make an emergency call, it works every single time.
Well, I'm sad
Just as I learn about a place on this earth that might be free of cell phone conversationists, it's going to go away
The reason cell service is
The reason cell service is poor is because the Cape Cod National Seashore won’t allow cell towers. Has nothing to do with sharks. There’s no cell reception at Provincetown’s airport! People complain about “creeping urbanization” of the cape and also complain about a lack of mod cons.
with lasers
.....