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CELLULAR CARRIERS CRITICIZED FOR PERFORMANCE IN EMERGENCIES After intermittent cellular service during last week's power outage, many consumers and industry watchers are highly critical of the idea that cell phones offer consumers added security in times of emergencies. Some wireless carriers have urged consumers to "cut the cord" on landline phones and rely entirely on a cellular phone. Some experts said that cell phone infrastructures are not built to be redundant, the way landline phone networks are. Claims about added safety from having a cell phone, they argue, are unfounded. Wireless carriers stood by their claims that cellular phones are extremely reliable and indeed offer consumers a measure of security they cannot have if they depend on a landline phone. The power failure was responsible for gaps in service, they said, not the networks themselves. Wall Street Journal, 18 August 2003 (sub. req'd) <http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB106106896616183400,00.html>
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