Off-Grid Emergency Communication: What I Learned After Cell Service Failed for 72 Hours
Off-grid emergency communication from real failures: why cell towers failed for 72 hours in a 2021 ice storm while GMRS worked, which specific radio battery died at 18°F and what replaced it, HAM vs GMRS vs satellite for neighborhood-scale vs. long-distance use cases, what the FCC GMRS license actually costs and covers, and the communication hierarchy that kept our neighborhood coordinated for 4 days without a cell signal.