Which phone to use after a storm?

"In the good ole Houston, USA, in the aftermath of IKE, telephones, Internet and
cable TV were down, and cell phones were unreliable due the spike in traffic. The only means of communication that approached useful levels was SMS messaging
and good ole AM/FM. Sometimes text messages would be delayed for minutes but
they almost always got there. I’m putting my el-cheapo crank-up radio in a pedestal next to my cell phone. They kept us in touch and made us comfortable for 60 hours. And let’s not forget the car charger for our phone. Sure, a generator is great, a car-pluggable DC-AC inverted will do work for small appliances, but a lowly $20 battery charger plugged to your car 12V outlet will power your radios, phones, flashlights, even coffee makers can make the difference between terror and small comfort." - submitted to Instapundit by Fernando Colina

During an emergency, more people are trying to use their phones at the same time. The increased calling volume may create network congestion, leading to “fast busy” signals on your wireless phone or a slow dial tone on your landline phone. If this happens, hang up, wait several seconds and then try the call again. This allows your original call data to clear the network before you try again. Keep non-emergency calls to a minimum, and limit your calls to the most important ones. Chances are many people will be attempting to place calls to loved ones, friends and business associates.

The conventional wisdom is that landlines are better in during natural disaster emergencies. However I'm seeing many personal accounts on blogs that say this isn’t true. Because of the small message size and low bandwidth, SMS’s (texting, blackberrys) were the only lifeline many had to keep in touch with friends and family near New Orleans and along the Gulf Coast. If you live outside a city your landlines most likely on power poles which fall over in high winds, snow and earthquakes. During and immediately after Katrina, even with 135 mph winds, the cell phone service stayed up and running in some areas. Power, regular phone service, and cable took over a week to restore because the streets were a giant tangled mess of wires and fallen trees. Same thing during the blackout. Landlines were almost always busy but SMS’s would usually get through.

BOTTOM LINE
Don't put all your eggs in one basket. If you can afford it, consider having a landline phone (the kind with a phone cord) and a cell phone with texting. Other options include walki-talkies and ham radios. You must be licensed to use a ham radio but if you did well in science in high school, the exam is not so bad. Now-a-days you won't have to learn Morse code to use ham radios.