In a twist of irony, perhaps dichotomy (or perhaps both), the widespread usage of cell phones has turned out to be both a boon and a bane in the hours immediately following the terrorist attacks and explosions in London earlier today.

As might be expected in this wireless age, cell phone calls, both inbound and outgoing as loved ones sought both reassurance and to reassure, skyrocketed across the United Kingdom and beyond immediately following the explosions. Wireless network operators begged the public’s understanding when encountering network overload issues, and some network operators had to put emergency processes into place to ensure enough bandwidth for emergency calls.’

Vodafone issued a statement saying that “Following the major incident in London today, Vodafone London switches are at capacity (which is very rare) so we’re having to go into ‘access overload’ procedures, which means freeing up a proportion of capacity across London to ensure the police and emergency services can communicate.”

“We can confirm that, due to the number of high calls currently being made on the Orange network, some of its customers in London may experience difficulties making calls on their first attempt and may have to try several times before they get connected,” added a spokesperson for the Orange network.

However, at the same time, many were using their cell phones not to place calls, but to take pictures of…

[Continue reading Cell Phones Boon, Bane During Aftermath of London Blasts]