Can you hear me now?
Boston rumors aside, cell service can be halted
The government’s process for shutting down a wireless network is shrouded in both secrecy and controversy.
Amid the chaos in Boston on Monday, The Associated Press erroneously reported that all cell service had been shut down throughout the city out of fear that other bombs might be detonated via mobile phone.
In truth, cell outages had more predictable causes — massive use that overwhelmed the available bandwidth and interfered with calls, texts and Internet access.
Still, the incident pointed to a little-known fact: The government does have a means of shutting down wireless communications and it has been done at least twice. But of course, the idea is controversial.
http://www.politico.com/story/2013/04/boston-marathon-cell-rumors-service-90172.html
