Isn’t Amateur Radio Obsolete?
Some people believe that the almost universal access to cellphone technology has made Amateur Radio obsolete, and it is true that cellphones are very useful most of the time. However, during an emergency, especially a widespread emergency, when you’ll need your cellphone the most, it’s likely the cellphone won’t work. Only a limited number of cellphone connections can be made from a given area at a given time. An emergency will overtax the system’s ability to provide connections to everyone who wants one, so your urgent message may not be possible because of all the extra casual conversations sure to be taking place. Hams would characterize this kind of situation as a consequence of a lack of communications discipline. Also, cellphones require a functioning infrastructure of towers, repeaters, etc., which may very well be down as an immediate result of the emergency incident, or if not immediately down, then soon to be out of service when the backup batteries become discharged. Amateur
