I finally saw the numbers on cellular vs. radio alarm signaling failure rates

Was reading a security trade magazine last week, and it said cellular alarm signals fail about 5% of the time during power outages, while old radio paths only drop like 1-2%. That surprised me, because I always figured cell was more reliable since it's newer. But I guess radio towers have backup batteries and cell networks get jammed up. What side do you guys lean toward for critical sites like banks or hospitals?

3 comments

3 Comments

luna2614d ago

Wow, this actually flips my whole thinking on its head too. I honestly used to be all about cellular because it seemed more modern and I figured the tech had to be better by now. But whenever I thought about it, I just assumed carriers had everything covered. You're right though, when the power goes out in a big storm, everyone's phone becomes a brick or a congestion monster. I never considered that radio signals don't have to compete with millions of people checking weather alerts and calling family. For something like a bank or hospital where seconds matter, giving up that guaranteed dedicated path feels risky. Yeah, I'm definitely leaning toward radio now for the really critical stuff.

garcia.wren5d ago

That "5% failure rate during power outages" figure jumps out at me because it's probably worse than the raw numbers show. Cell towers do have backup batteries, but when you've got a widespread outage, everyone and their brother is camping on their phone, and the network gets congested fast. The real kicker is that radio signaling usually uses a dedicated frequency, not a shared consumer network, so it doesn't compete for bandwidth with people streaming Netflix during a storm. For something like a bank or hospital, I'd take the slightly older tech that's got its own lane over the modern stuff that's fighting for space with everyone else.

andrew_baker94d ago

Half a million people fighting for cell signal during a storm and you wonder why alarms drop? I saw a study once that said during Hurricane Sandy, cell networks in some areas saw failure rates over 30% for alarm signals specifically. That 5% figure must be an average on a good day. @luna261 made a good point about dedicated paths too. Radio is basically a private lane while cellular is the interstate at rush hour with everybody honking. For banks and hospitals with life safety stuff, I'd take the old reliable 1% failure rate over the shiny new 5% any day.