CNN.com in its online story, "Cell phone service disabled in New York tunnels," is reporting on the decisions by the Port Authority and MTA to suspend cell phone service for fear that terrorists might use this to detonate explosive devices remotely:
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which runs area
transit hubs, bridges and tunnels, decided last Thursday to
indefinitely sever power to transmitters providing wireless service in
the Holland and Lincoln tunnels, spokesman Tony Ciavolella said Monday.
The
Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which controls the nation's
largest mass transit system, also suspended mobile phone service in the
Brooklyn-Battery and Queens Midtown tunnels after the London attack,
but it reinstated service Monday afternoon.
Mayor Bloomberg voiced his disagreement with the suspension of service, adding that "Cell phones provide a measure of comfort." There might be a bigger benefit in allowing the use of cell phones in tunnels and even the subway, especially those that have still and video cameras. As seen with the recent attack in London, usable images and movies were recorded with camera phones by those experiencing the tradgedy firsthand. If they had a cell signal, these could have been transmitted immediately to those responding to this attack.
CNN is somewhat misleading by saying in their lede, "Cell phones have been used to detonate explosives in Madrid and elsewhere." However, later in the story they do clarify this: "In the Madrid explosions, alarms in cells phones were set on vibration,
which sent electric impulses to the copper detonators connected to the
explosives, Spanish authorities said." These devices were not activated remotely by a cell signal.
OtherS are commenting on this story:
On BoingBoing.net, "Cell service shut off indefinitely in 4 NYC commuter tunnels - UPDATED," lists comments by a several readers. One person suggested emailing that the Port Authority's Office of the Inspector General to protest their decision. Another reader points to an online story at NY1 News:
MTA spokesman Brian Dolan said early Monday that the Police Department
asked the MTA to shut off service in the Midtown and Battery tunnels. A
short time later Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said that wasn’t so.
In fact, the NYPD feels that it is more important that drivers have the ability to stay in communication in the case of an emergency, including a terrorist attack.
And with regard to the subway system, "...the MTA said it is drafting a request for proposals to provide more cell phone service, this time in the subways." Right now, I know you can make a call at the Wall Street or Cortlandt Street stations, if you stand near the turnstiles, but it's not a strong signal.
Textually.org is reporting on this, but I'm surprised they're not mentioning camera phones in regard to this story since they normally cover this topic very well. They link to a story at San Diego Union Tribune online, which quotes this official:
"It's a conundrum," said P.J. Crowley, a former
National Security Council official who is a senior fellow at the Center
for American Progress, a liberal think tank. "In ensuring that we have
the ability to communicate in a crisis, we're ensuring that our
adversary can do the same thing. But the answer is to keep people who
want to do us harm away from our borders, rather than eliminating a
valued asset for people who day in, day out live within our borders."
I would go even further and recommend that each city's Homeland Security office provide an email and SMS address as well as a phone number where any and all information, whether voice or pictures, about potential or actual emergencies, could be sent an evaluated on a 24/7 basis. This would be invaluable to those who need to rapidly develop a response strategy, and triage those who are injured.
