{"id":636,"date":"2010-03-10T22:51:22","date_gmt":"2010-03-11T02:51:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.engineeringradio.us\/blog\/?p=3928"},"modified":"2023-07-09T15:22:36","modified_gmt":"2023-07-09T19:22:36","slug":"communications-infrastructure-vulnerability","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.engineeringradio.us\/blog\/2010\/03\/communications-infrastructure-vulnerability\/","title":{"rendered":"Communications infrastructure vulnerability"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I was speaking with a friend of mine recently about some interference issues he was having at an FM transmitter site. \u00a0There were several cellular and PCS<\/a> tenants at this site and something from the FM transmitter was interfering with the GPS<\/a> receivers. \u00a0This one very small glitch was causing multiple carriers to go offline, basically shutting down the entire wireless infrastructure at this particular site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

GPS signals are used for syncing carrier frequencies and modulation timing for CDMA<\/a> and TDMA<\/a> that all cellular, PSC, and 3G<\/a>, 4G<\/a> (or whatever G) wireless systems use to seamlessly hand off users from one site to another. \u00a0Without it, the entire system will shut down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What would happen to communications in this country if all GPS were interrupted? \u00a0When I was in the military, we spoke often about high-altitude nuclear detonations and the possible effects they would have on our communications circuits. \u00a0In fact, we drilled for such things. \u00a0Often. \u00a0What, if anything, are wireless carriers doing to keep their sites online if, heaven forbid, somebody does something to disrupt GPS? \u00a0If terrestrial radio and television broadcasting is going to be replaced by 3G and 4G wireless networks, how redundant are they? \u00a0I know, for example, many cell sites do not have long-term backup power. \u00a0They have battery banks, which in a power outage, may last 6-10 hours, but after that, the site is down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Further, how about vulnerabilities getting the data to and from these sites? \u00a0Most cell sites rely on some type of TELCO circuit, usually a T-1 (DS-1) or multiple T-1 to interface with the wired network. \u00a0This includes voice, text, and data services. \u00a0If those circuits are down, then anything connected to them will be offline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What about redundant transmitters, antennas, receivers, etc? \u00a0How much of the current wireless infrastructure is backed up with spares? \u00a0It causes me worry to think that someday traditional broadcasters will be going out of business due to poor financial planning, leaving us all to subscription-based data services that may or may not be there in an emergency. \u00a0At least with many radio and TV stations, there are generators, backup transmitters, microwave systems, and so forth. \u00a0Most good broadcasters have emergency plans for the restoration of service during a disaster. \u00a0EAS may not be the greatest thing ever, but right now, it is the only emergency communications plan we have. Radio is still the best and most robust way to communicate vital information during emergencies. \u00a0Cell sites go offline along with whatever G wireless service, cable TV systems go offline due to power outages or damaged distribution networks, landline phones can be taken out due to power interruptions at the company office, or damaged networks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why do I care? Why should you care? \u00a0Because, as I have eluded in previous posts, with the demise of local newspapers, the demise of local radio, the erosion of local TV news coverage, and the general trivialization of our political apparatus on the local and national levels, we are losing our voice. \u00a0We will lose our democracy. \u00a0Right now, the US is on the verge of becoming an oligarchy<\/a> or a corporatocracy<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What road are we traveling down when unrestricted free access to information is gone? \u00a0The internet is a great resource, but it is not free. \u00a0What will happen to the price of internet access when competing information and entertainment technologies such as radio, TV, and newspapers disappear? \u00a0Look to our transportation sector for an example. \u00a0Gone are the vast majority of passenger railroads that crisscrossed the country for nearly 100 years. \u00a0In many places, public transportation is laughable. \u00a0How do you get to work? \u00a0How do you get to the store? \u00a0How much will $5.00 per gallon of gas affect your life? \u00a0More importantly, what can you do about it when the cost of fuel gets expensive? Nothing. \u00a0Most people are stuck in their suburban homes with not even a convenience store within walking distance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What will happen when terrestrial radio goes away? \u00a0I shudder to think.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I was speaking with a friend of mine recently about some interference issues he was having at an FM transmitter site. \u00a0There were several cellular and PCS tenants at this site and something from the FM transmitter was interfering with the GPS receivers. \u00a0This one very small glitch was causing multiple carriers to go offline, … Continue reading Communications infrastructure vulnerability<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[88,57,49],"class_list":["post-636","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general","tag-democracy","tag-emergency-info","tag-predictions"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.engineeringradio.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/636","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.engineeringradio.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.engineeringradio.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.engineeringradio.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.engineeringradio.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=636"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.engineeringradio.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/636\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12130,"href":"https:\/\/www.engineeringradio.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/636\/revisions\/12130"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.engineeringradio.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=636"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.engineeringradio.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=636"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.engineeringradio.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=636"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}