The Day the Cell Phones Died...

Two weeks.  It’s been two weeks since cell phones in Honduras went silent.  No calls in.  No calls out.  No internet access via cell phone.  Nothing.  Nada.  Zip. Zilch.

And it’s not just one cell phone company -- it’s all three of them.  (I often forget that Hondutel, the Ma Bell of Honduras, offers cell phone service.)

So what is causing all of the trouble? The government.  I rarely get political in my posts, but there’s no way to avoid it with this one.  It’s the government that is blocking cell phone service.  Or, more accurately, it’s the government that has mandated the block.

Back in December, 2013, the then-Congress and then-President signed a law that cell phone signals in the vicinity of the 24 prisons in the country would be blocked.  The move was deemed necessary to combat the contraband cell phones that are abundant in the prisons.  Even though they’re in prison, gang members and “crime bosses” have been able to run their organizations from behind bars.  Make a phone call, “push a button”. (Did you notice the gratuitous reference to The Godfather?)

The blockade began on Friday, February 7.  And that, my friends, is the day the cell phones died…

The thinking behind it was to cut off communication with the outside world.  The problem with that is that the majority of prisoners receive their daily food and water from family members or friends (just like at at public hospitals, but that’s a post for another day), which is, of course, how most of the cell phones make it inside.  So, if family and friends are providing the daily bread, there is STILL contact with the free world.

Another HUGE problem is that the blocked vicinity is a one-mile radius around each prison.  That ends up effectively being most of the cities where the prisons are located.

The net effect has been that almost no one can make or receive phone calls.  

Need the police?  Nope. 

Is your house burning down?  Oops.  So sorry.

Medical emergency?  You’re outta luck.

Want a pizza delivered?  Get off your butt and walk across the street to Pizza Hut.  (OK, for the record, I’ve never called Pizza Hut to deliver.  Yes, it really is just across the street from us.  I much prefer Little Caesar’s, anyway!)

The problem with all of this is that the government did not think about the consequences of their implementation.  Many businesses ONLY use a cell phone, so they are hurting.  The full economic impact has yet to be seen.

I actually have cell signal when I'm at the university each day.  Unfortunately, because everyone I would need to call is within the restricted zone, it really makes no difference.  

So, for two weeks we’ve been without cell phones (and still having to pay for our phone plans, I might add).  And, for those same two weeks I’ve been sounding like a broken record, telling anyone who would listen that the technology to block calls JUST at the prisons is relatively simple.  I’ve also been saying that it would ultimately be the cell phone companies themselves who push for the solution since they are losing money hand over fist.

Lo, and behold, an article in La Tribuna newspaper two days ago said that’s exactly what’s going to happen: the 3 cell phone companies are going to buy the needed equipment and put it in place at the 24 prisons.  THEN cell phone service for the rest of us will be restored.

When is all of this supposed to happen?  In 15 days. (Spanish, for two weeks.)  So, 15 days in Honduras is more likely at least a month.  Although, since the phone companies are losing so much money, there’s hope that they’ll get the equipment right away and dispatch those engineers to get it all up and running.

And, in other news, because of all of this, some of the more connected the “crime bosses” on the inside are getting their hands on satellite phones.  I guess when you’ve got to push a button, you’ve got to push a button.  And you find the technology…