vB Easy Archive - BB emergency 950 versus sim/GPRS models: is there a difference?

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BB emergency 950 versus sim/GPRS models: is there a difference?
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Posted by: blackbelt

Does any one know how the Blackberries worked during 911 and the blackout?

can the newer sim/GPRS have the same reliability as the older 950 models?

I am told the older models 950 worked on Satelite reliance. so when the towers were down, people could still communicate.

Who the newer sim/GPRS ones work? I am thinking they won't because they use the same tech as the cell phones that weren't working?

Anyone know?

Posted by: Mark Rejhon

Yes, it was the Mobitex BlackBerries that were still working.

They don't use satellites per se, but the Mobitex towers may use satellite for their uplinks. Often, Mobitex were on different towers than GSM/GPRS.

GSM/GPRS is getting more and more reliable than in the past, but Mobitex still remains very reliable. That's why the US government often still use Mobitex devices.

However, it's not necessarily a unamious rule. If you were in the province of Ontario in Canada, it's harder to tell whether you may prefer GSM/GPRS or Mobitex. Both Mobitex and GSM/GPRS are on the same Rogers celltowers, but only within the Urban limits. There's massively MUCH more GSM/GPRS reception than Mobitex (there is provincewide reception along the southern Ontario corridor - 1000km of nonstop GSM/GPRS reception). Especially in the rural areas between cities. The Mobitex equipment have been very reliable, and the GSM/GPRS is prone to phonecall overloads that occurs right after a disaster. However, from the same celltower, they are likely powered off the same uninterruptible power supplies and generators -- which still conked out in the Great Blackout of 2003 when they ran out of steam. Since the equipment are all on the same power, both would have conked out at the same time. The question is whether Mobitex or GSM/GPRS BlackBerries would have been more reliable reaching alternate further-away celltowers that were still working, etc. Anyone know?

Posted by: WorldIRC

I don't thing you should buy a blackberry based on blackout reliability. That's the only time the network ever went out. Longtime since the last blackout

Posted by: blackbelt

I own the 950, during 911 it worked perfectly. During the blackout, I pulled it out of the closet, as I wasn't using it for a while. I turned it on and it was working perfectly again. I can't say enough about how much it helped. On a day anyone would have paid thousands to have a device that was working.

We already own the BB's. It was thinking along the lines of emergencies. As the 950's are very affordable these days. We are entertaining the thought of buying a few with the cheapest plan available to keep in stock like flash lights. Wether nationwide or local, they have proven to come in very handy from my experience.

The one day that the BB was working during the BB made up for the entire's years monthly fee in my opion. I was paying $19.00, which is why it was still active when I wasn't actively using the device.

I also wanted to know out of curiousity why the mobitec worked during the outages and why the GPRS ones didn't. And use that knowlege to think of where it is worth keeping the old technologies around in case things do go wrong. As in the scope of an organization that cost isn't a lot.

one of the main advantages of the 950's is:
it uses a double A that lasts nearly a month. No need for electricity.

Posted by: blackbelt

http://www.blackberry.com/news/part...8_07_2004.shtml
"during the 9/11 attack and the 2003 east coast blackout, BlackBerry devices using the Mobitex network maintained full functionality while other wireless communications systems often failed. Cingular operates the largest Mobitex network in the U.S., which covers 93% of the US. business population, including 492 Metropolitan Statistical Areas and 130 airports."

Posted by: NJBlackBerry

Cingular subsequently sold the Mobitext network. It's still there and robust, but it is also much slower than any other network out there (around 9600bps).

Posted by: PCW

Although I still own my trusty little 950, I discontinued my Cingular IM service when I began using my TMO 7230 last year.

My understanding is that Cingular sold their Mobitex network, but continues to offer the service, branded under the Cingular name.

Does anyone know if the the new network owner is selling service as well? Any pricing advantages?

I miss the reliability and coverage of the 950 on the Mobitex network. Nothing fancy - just plain old email and PIN to PIN, but it worked ALL THE TIME. (And I liked the keyboard better. Easier to type. )

Last minute edit:
In fact, I'd love to see RIM reintroduce the 950, but with a better quality screen and state of the art backlighting. And the capability to roam between Mobitex and GPRS. What a great "emergency" communications device that would be!

Posted by: blackbelt

you are so right, I was thinking about that too... if anyone from RIM is reading this... please reintroduce the 950... like the reintroduced the air jordans... call it let's say the blackberry classic!

if the 950 could send regular text messages that would be a great addition.

The double A battery that lasts 4 weeks on the 950 can't be beat. And the old C plus plus coding is still faster than the new ones.

add usb sync and it's money! At a decent price, it will get a lot of sales. 9.6k is slow, but you don't notice it as it's email only.

Posted by: NJBlackBerry

RIM just released a new Mobitext model - the 5790.