Originally shared by Shaun Burks (Stryse)

So to segway off a different post…   How your Cell Phone is making your city more dangerous to live in.

A long time ago in an America seemingly far far away, there was a little piece of equipment that permeated streets.   It was a communication device found along the street that enabled a passerby to report a fire and summon assistance.  A red box on a pole (well, often.. actual descriptions may vary) that summoned the fire department.

Then we got pay phones, and the forward thinkers of that day were smart enough to require that those system adhered to certain standards that ensured their survivability and operation in a real emergency.  You know, _when it really matters_.   Remember the days when you could power your phone without an AC outlet?  Do you feel old now?

Along with those mandates, was also that pay phone had to be pervasive.   As pervasive as the fire boxes which they were looking to replace.    As pay phones became more common place, municipalities began allowing the removal of the old systems.

This would have been all well and good except the phone companies, not being government entities and thus serving their own interests first (as it should be in a free market) were allowed to let market conditions dictate the pervasiveness of the pay phones.

I’m hard pressed to tell you the last time I saw an actual payphone IRL.   You’re likely reading this on your smart-mobile-communicator right now anyway.  There isn’t a lot of us with a need for a pay phone, when we have one in our pocket (complete with electronic phone book).

So what’s the problem then?   We have cell phones, we don’t need pay phones, we can just reach in our pocket and call 911.   

If only…

It might disturb you to know that the front-line defense keeping your city from being laid down low unto ash and dust by fire are the homeless, the destitute, and others who can be found walking the streets late at night while the rest of us sleep comfortably with the cell-phone-alarm-clock charging on the nightstand.    What makes you think they have a cell phone to use?    Now they don’t have a payphone (which were required to allow emergency services calls to be placed at no charge) nor a dedicated device for communicating those emergencies to those tasked with responding.

Anyone who knows anything about fire and how it spreads knows how critical it is to get an immediate response.   It used to be making that call was simple for anyone, regardless of their situation in life.   Today, not so much.   History has shown we make short-sighted decisions like this and that our cities do sometimes burn down as a result of our lack of forethought.  This is particularly damning when we just refuse to abide history.

So as your local phone companies eviscerate the phone tech of the past to save a buck by making your landline VoIP.. consider that the people making these decisions weren’t around when previous generations applied lessons learned the hard way to the communication infrastructure they rely upon.   Consider the implications to the safety and well being of not only you and your neighbors, but the places you love and call home

Think to your own personal experience.  How often is your smart-phone responsive (and charged) when its life and death?

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