[Hands0n]

Firstly let me offer completely inadequate words of condolence and disgust at today's terrorist attacks in London. Also of praise for the support services who have to attend todays attacks and the aftermath that will inevitably ensue. Thoughts also to those directly affected.

My 15-year old daughter was in London today on a school visit and just around the corner of the Tavistock Square bus bomb. She actually heard the blast and witnessed the emergency services ramping up their response. Thankfully she is now well out of danger and back in Kent!

The mobile phone network has had its part to play. I noticed that Sky News are using an SMS shortcode for people to report they're okay or ask if their family and loved ones are safe. This has been put into place almost immediately and so I guess is part of the plan for reporting and supporting such atrocities.

Interesting observation - the Mobile phone network (2G and 3G) as witness by the text messages I got subsequently have been congested from the outset. SMS from her to me (O2 to Three, and O2 to Orange) took just over an hour to reach me and other family members. This appears to be only within London as text locally and elsewhere in the county is almost instant both within and x-network. Now she's back the text response is instant.

[Ben]

Mobile networks have to dedicate capacity to the emergency services in such events, and news reports suggest that this did take place. Obviously there are people for whom communication is more important, and I'm certain that the mobile networks will have allocated capacity effectively to ensure the London emergency procedures were deployed rapidly.

Very glad to hear your daughter is ok.

Other mobile network observations and comments welcome.

Edit: Article from The Register on this subject http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/07/07/london_phone/

Edit: A further BBC Article (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4659737.stm) confirms that Vodafone did take action to reserve capacity for the emergency services. It also includes 3 in the list of networks that were experiencing congestion. All that extra W-CDMA capacity making a huge difference obviously.... *shakes head*

[bsrjl1]

Access Overload Control (ACCOLC) is the name of the procedure. IIRC users are assigned class 1-9, emergency services 10-14 & 15 is for engineering/other. Has to be done on a cell-basis, although usually one class will be barred for a few minutes, then another etc.. Not very often all of 1-9 will be barred.

[Hands0n]

Very interesting about ACCOLC - this afternoon (5 mins ago) I tried to call an O2 number from my [2.5G] Orange handset, result permanent network busy. Tried same call from my 3 handset and got through [on 3G] first time (that'll burn 3GSU up a bit sorry m8, couldn't resist that)!

It occurs to me that the Prime Ministerial and others usual rhetoric about not allowing terrorism to affect our lives rings quite a bit hollow when you realise that such an atrocity does indeed have a very halting effect to our infrastructure and consequently our ability to operate effectively. Why, after all, should Mr Smith be denied the ability to let a frantic Mrs Smith know that he is alive and well in such circumstances? The [albeit temporary] "land grab" of the airtime by emergency and special services has a disabling effect on commerce and, dare I say, others who need to summon emergency services themselves even.

I can completely understand [and fully accept] that the communications infrastructure has to be prioritised to our emergency services and armed forces. However, perhaps in this brave new world of ours OFCOM and the Mobile Ops need to consider how we can really build an [public radio communications] infrastructure that enables us to rise above and overcome the terrible consequences of terrorism. To do so would require building in large amounts of normally redundant capacity - but if we truly are to be able to rise above terrorism then we must have an infrastructure that allows us to do so.

I would hope that, after the dust of this particular atrocity has settled, appropriate discussions about infrastructure are held and remedies constructed and applied.

[Ben]

Very interesting about ACCOLC - this afternoon (5 mins ago) I tried to call an O2 number from my [2.5G] Orange handset, result permanent network busy. Tried same call from my 3 handset and got through [on 3G] first time (that'll burn 3GSU up a bit sorry m8, couldn't resist that)!
Yeah, I think it was just the 2G networks that bore the brunt on reflection. All the 3G networks should have coped a lot better, Orange, O2 and Vodafone 3G included!

[bsrjl1]

I believe that Joe-Public would still ba able to make an emergency call as that would overide access class barring.

[Jon3G]

Yeah, I think it was just the 2G networks that bore the brunt on reflection. All the 3G networks should have coped a lot better, Orange, O2 and Vodafone 3G included!


Vodafone was blocked on every band, I have a mate whom works in Camden town and he could not make a phone call all day and he has a 6680 on Voda 3G

[Talkingabout3G]

Yeah, I think it was just the 2G networks that bore the brunt on reflection. All the 3G networks should have coped a lot better, Orange, O2 and Vodafone 3G included!


I was in London and found it impossable to make a call even though I am on Orange 3G and Vodafone 3G

[Jon3G]

I thought as much the entire networks would have been effected

[solo12002]

Ben

Is right networks have to give the services full use of the network, I'm in Northern Ireland and have a NHS mobile on the o2 Network, I and everyone else on Trust mobiles had full coverage, but I could not get anywere on my own o2 Mobile.