Question do intercontinental hams connect to each other via internet cables(IRLP), i.e. with internet as backbone? if that is the case, then in a worst case scenario like internet cables snapping all over the world, will even ham radio fail as a last line of communication? or can hams also communicate via satellites?
also, all mobiles come with an emergency calling facility nowadays which, it is said can be called even from remote parts of the world. if so, hams are not essentially needed in disaster scenarios, are they?
is ham <-> mobile communication possible?
how relevant is ham radio today?
pls help, these are doubts my team members are asking me..
Answer Well, my young friend, let me assure you that "ham radio," better described as "amateur radio," has nothing to do with the Internet and has existed long before the Internet. By definition, radio is not wired. And, conversely, what you think of as a "mobile" device, a Blackberry, an iPhone, or whatever you might use as a "mobile" is -- in fact -- communicating entirely by radio! If you can send a message from one place to another, outside of hearing range, without wires, it's radio. Pure and simple. If all Internet wires went away, amateur radio would continue as it always has. Yes, amateurs can use satellites; most don't. Amateurs can communicate via almost anything and, again, I'm not sure what you mean by mobile. If you mean a cell phone, of course, if You mean through the Internet -- nope, that's a wired medium with wireless "hot spots." Let me suggest you learn about amateur radio right here online at www.arrl.org -- follow the links marked "We do that!" especially.
