Internet Disruptions

 

One of the area’s biggest Internet providers is having a lot of outages. The details aren’t important so much as the effects.

I noticed issues at restaurants. Apparently some businesses can’t do basic billing without an Internet connection. Cash is king. 

I’m not sure if it’s related but gas station loyalty cards are hit or miss. Sometimes they work, other times they don’t. 

My small Internet provider is currently being swallowed up by the bigger company. The changeover won’t be completed until the second week of April. In the mean time my service is still mostly up. 

When it does go down my cell phone’s hotspot is a decent substitute. For many years we didn’t have cell service here. Then a company put in a new tower that isn’t blocked by the mountains. 

Think of all your services that rely on the Internet besides your computer connection: VOIP phone service, movie streaming, music streaming, cameras, security, etc..  The more “advanced” the household electronics the more vulnerable to disruptions they are. 

My household is not so advanced that I can’t do most things the old fashioned way. I also like to keep some cash handy. The one thing I no longer have is an old fashioned land line. Should the Internet and cell towers go down I could always text using a Garmin InReach’s satellite connection. Or I could write a letter and mail it.   -or I could keep my thoughts to myself. 

-Sixbears