# Cell Phones: Network Busy!?!?!?!

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phones-network-busy/244975>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [May 13, 2004, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phones-network-busy/244975 "2004-05-13T17:23:32Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\
**Post date:** [May 13, 2004, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phones-network-busy/244975/1 "2004-05-13T17:23:32Z")

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Is it a possible that a cell tower can be overloaded? I was at Union Station in Washington, DC trying to place a call. The signal was strong, but the call could not be placed! My phone gave me a message “Network Busy”! This is a Cingular phone, and I know their network leaves a lot to be desired, but this is ridic-u-lick-u-lick-u-lous! :rolleyes:

…Makes a great paperweight, though! :smack:

- Jinx

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**Author:** ![kellner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c2a13f/32.png) [@kellner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kellner)\
**Post date:** [May 13, 2004, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phones-network-busy/244975/2 "2004-05-13T17:48:47Z")

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> [@Jinx](#):
>
> Is it a possible that a cell tower can be overloaded?

Absolutely. This is why far more towers are needed in city centers than in rural areas. Whenever you have _far_ more people with cell phones in an area than usual this will happen sooner or later. e.g. Large festivals or similar events in otherwise not so densely populated areas can cause this.

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**Author:** ![badmana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@badmana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/badmana)\
**Post date:** [May 13, 2004, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phones-network-busy/244975/3 "2004-05-13T18:18:53Z")

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Cell phones depend on the fact that not everyone is using them at any given time.

Whenever an emergency happens you’ll often have this issue. Cell towers only have so much band width to handle calls, if all the towers reachable by your cell phone are busy, you cannot make and/or receive calls.

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**Author:** ![mischievous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c2a13f/32.png) [@mischievous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mischievous)\
**Post date:** [May 13, 2004, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phones-network-busy/244975/4 "2004-05-13T19:58:46Z")

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Yup. Happens here every time a major disaster strikes. Like New Year’s Eve. :rolleyes:

mischievous

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**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\
**Post date:** [May 13, 2004, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phones-network-busy/244975/5 "2004-05-13T20:27:10Z")

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> [@badmana](#):
>
> Cell phones depend on the fact that not everyone is using them at any given time.

Pretty much the whole phone network is like that, since way before cell phones.