First responders across Arkansas are getting ready for the worst during the eclipse this year.
Rest assured, they are taking preventative measures to avoid catastrophe.
According to THV11, first responders are preparing for cell phone services to go down during the giant eclipse so that healthcare can still be provided during such an event.
First Responders On Standby
John Woodward, MEMS Operations Manager in Little Rock, says that cell communication may be overtaxed in the event of an eclipse. It could affect cell phone towers:
“There is a possibility that there may be an overtaxing of our communication and our cell phone towers.”
Woodward says they have different radio frequencies on backup in case cell phone towers fail:
“The main radio system that we use is a WinRadio. The majority of emergency services across the state use a WinRadios. If it in fact does fail, we have the ability to move to our primary backup system, which is our UHF radio frequencies.”
And if those radio frequencies fail, they can switch to ham radios:
“We can even use ham radio operators if needed.”
NASA Issues Warning
The announcement comes after NASA warned that an eclipse could cast a “shadow’ on cell service.
NASA officials have warned that solar eclipses can suddenly change the structure of the ionosphere, which can affect communication across radio and GPS devices.
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