This week reminded me of the 2 storms in 2011 when many of us lost power from 3 days during the summer storm to more than a week in the “October Surprise.”  I’ll never forget driving completely blind in the snow one night trying to go the 3 to 4 miles from my apartment down the road where several family members lived.  I was lost in a blizzard, running on faith.

The big difference in 2020 was, I never lost power or internet.  I must be in a good location as far electrical reliability is concerned because in the 5+ years we have lived here, we have never lost power in any storm.  As much as I like to criticize Comcast, I got them to install a separate line in 2015 directly from my modem to the street.  Since then, my connection has been trouble free.

However, I have heard from some of you.  I know you are in bad shape.  You may have no power, no internet, or power, but are lacking internet. I want to support you in whatever way I can, possibly to help you to in the current crisis and to prepare for the future. 

Ideas

-Just as was the case back in 2011, I think some of you may want to have a hard line / POTS telephone line with the phone company.  This coupled with a corded phone can provide a real sense of security and companionship during a difficult time.  Part of the problem is so many of us have moved to internet based phone lines from the cable company  and even the phone company.  Internet based phones do you ZERO good during a power outage.  If you have a battery backup, that line may last you 8 hours.  An old fashioned telephone line will still work unless the line is damaged.   Your neighborhood may have had the traditional lines torn out. You may never be able to get that back, but you may.  Consider what helps you sleep at night.

-Do you have the right cell phone provider?  Have you been able to make and receive calls easily?  Have you had trouble getting cellular data?

-Would you like to create a “hotspot” from your smartphone or get a little hotspot box so that you can connect your other devices like your laptop and tablet to the internet when your hard wired internet is down?

-Would you be interested in a cellular iPad so you have a computer like device that connects to the internet even when you have no WiFi?