Published: July 10, 2008 08:50 am         

Rocklahoma fans jam cell phone towers

PRYOR (AP) — An estimated 100,000 rock music fans are expected this week at Rocklahoma, a five-day music festival that kicks off in Mayes County on Wednesday.

And with so many people in one place at the same time, officials say busy signals and dropped calls will be common as communications towers in the area become jammed by people calling, texting and sending pictures from their cell phones.

“What the problem is, cell phone towers can only handle so many calls,” said John Janzen, Mayes County emergency management director. “It’s causing us some problems.”

The issue first came up last month during the four-day Country Fever music festival. Janzen said it was the first time it has happened in that event's six years.

Pryor Mayor Jimmy Tramel said dropped calls are becoming more frequent in the Pryor area. Tramel said more cell phone towers may be needed to accommodate increased cell-phone use in the area.

Janzen said he tested the system by calling 911 periodically during the weekend of Country Fever.

“For half an hour, I tried and couldn't get through,” he said. “If someone did have to call 911, they might not get through.”

Rick Langkamp, director of ambulance service provider Mayes Emergency Services Trust Authority, said some people had trouble getting through to 911 dispatch in Chouteau, a town about 15 miles south of Pryor, but it couldn't be confirmed that it was caused by jammed towers.

Janzen is expecting even more problems with Rocklahoma.

“If I could, I would ask people to stay off their cell phones as much as possible, but that’s not going to happen,” he said.

Janzen said during the festival, emergency service workers have been given Government Emergency Telecommunication Service devices, or GETS cards, which allow calls from emergency workers’ phones to be picked up by cell phone towers.

“It prioritizes your phone so when you call, it kicks someone else off,” he said.

Janzen said there are plenty of police, fire and ambulance personnel stationed at the event and all have radios to communicate, so cell phones won't be an issue for them.

One way to alleviate the problem, Janzen said, is for service providers to bring in temporary, portable cell phone towers during the festivals.

Langkamp and Janzen said officials at AT&T, the area's largest provider, have been contacted and know of the problem.

“When you have large groups of people, that’s just going to happen,” AT&T spokesman Andy Morgan said. “In the past, we’ve looked at those events to see if its feasible bringing in temporary cell phone towers.”

Morgan said no temporary towers will be brought in for Rocklahoma this year because AT&T needs almost two months notice, but the portable towers may be used next year.

Langkamp said jammed towers have become just another part of large-scale events.

“It occurs and you can do some things, but it’s not going to be 100 percent fixable,” he said.

     

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