Originally Posted by Janice & Bud
<...snip...>. Seems like I vaguely remember landlines. 😀<...>

The landline piggybacks on the cable Internet (I don't have TV). The mobile coverage here is spotty. Sometimes 1 flickering bar on the house, but if I get on the roof, I get 4. I've tried all 3 major carriers and there is no difference. So in good weather, the cell phone piggybacks on the landline/Internet connection.

During and after Milton, the cell phone took about a minute for any Internet page to load, some never finished. It's that flickering one-bar thing. That's why the landline.

I think the problem is I'm 32' above sea level, we call it the Florida Alps. It's sparsely populated here. To the east one house, a 2 mile wide lagoon, barrier island, and the Oean. To the west, one house and a large protected wetland. Although I only have 1/2 acre, most folks around here have 50 or so. Being sparsely populated, nobody wants to invest more than they have to in order to give us coverage. It's about return on their dollars of investment.

But it's a little piece of paradise, and it's worth it to us.

In 2024 we had 2 hurricanes and a tropical storm. All cell phones were out, but the landline still worked, so all my neighbors used my phone to let their dear ones know they were OK.

Milton's tornadoes were unusual, and hopefully something that will not repeat. Usually during a 'cane, they are little twisters that don't do more than rip tiles of the roof, but Miltons were like Dorothy and Toto tornadoes.

I'll be going out to help those not so lucky this afternoon again. It's just the right thing to do.


Notes ♫

Bob "Notes" Norton smile Norton Music
https://www.nortonmusic.com

100% MIDI Super-Styles recorded by live, pro, studio musicians for a live groove
& Fake Disks for MIDI and/or RealTracks