Yesterday's tragic terrorist attacks in London resulted in overloaded cellular and landline voice networks as people from around the world rushed to call family members and loved ones. Major carriers reported call rates that were twice their normal volume, which led to service restrictions and call delays. Many Londoners speculated that carriers shut down their networks after the attacks due to fears that terrorists could use cell phones to set off bombs. Orange, Vodafone, and O2, however, confirmed that they did not shut down their networks after the explosions yesterday. Instead, carriers gave bandwidth priority to police, government officials, and rescue workers.
For more on the overloaded cell networks in London:
- read this article from the Globe and Mail