Staying in Contact When Networks Fail

During floods, storms, wildfires and major power cuts, the mobile network is often the first piece of infrastructure to go — not because masts are destroyed, but because everyone in the area tries to call at once and the system congests. Landlines and internet-based calling can fail for the same reason, or because backup batteries at local exchanges run flat after a day or two without mains power. A comms plan means having more than one way to reach people, and knowing which method to try first.

SMS and messaging apps use far less network capacity than voice calls and often get through when calls won't connect. If you can't reach someone by phone, send a short text stating your status and location rather than repeatedly redialling, which only adds to congestion. This is the simplest habit to adopt and needs no equipment beyond a phone that still has charge — see keeping your phone alive during a blackout for that part.

Pick one relative or friend outside your immediate region as a relay point. Local calls can jam while long-distance ones go through on a different route, so everyone in the family calling one distant number is often more reliable than trying to call each other directly. Everyone should know this number from memory, not just from a saved contact.

A basic two-way radio (PMR446 in the UK/EU, FRS/GMRS in the US) works without any network at all, over a range of roughly a few hundred metres to a couple of kilometres depending on terrain. It's useful for keeping a household or small group in contact across a building, campsite or neighbourhood when phones are down entirely. Learning to use one properly, including which channels are legal to use without a licence, takes some study — pairing a radio with a solar radio with flashlight unit covers both information and contact needs from one battery source.

1. 01

   Write down three ways to reach each key contact. Phone, text, and one alternative such as a neighbour, workplace landline or radio channel.

1. 01

   Agree an out-of-area relay contact. Confirm they're willing, and give them a short list of who might call and why.

1. 01

   Set a check-in schedule. Agree that if contact is lost, everyone tries to reach the relay contact at a fixed time (e.g. 6pm) rather than constantly redialling.

1. 01

   Learn your area's official alert channels. Local radio stations and official emergency alert systems often keep broadcasting after mobile networks fail, since they run on separate infrastructure.

1. 01

   Test the plan without warning. Once every few months, send the "I'm fine, at X" test text to see if everyone remembers what to do.

A voice call holds a dedicated channel open for its whole duration; a text is a short burst of data that can slot into small gaps in network capacity. That's why, in the first hour of a major regional event, texts frequently succeed when calls fail outright. This isn't a guarantee — if the network truly goes down rather than just congesting, nothing gets through and you're relying on radio or physical relay.

Assuming a fully charged phone means a working network — the two are unrelated. Relying only on one contact method rather than a layered one. Buying a radio and never learning the local channel etiquette or range limits, then finding it useless when needed. Skipping the out-of-area contact because "everyone's on the same network" — that's exactly the situation it's meant to solve.

No comms plan fixes a genuinely destroyed network, and radio range drops sharply through buildings, hills and bad weather. Treat these layers as improving your odds, not guaranteeing contact — pair the plan with agreed physical meeting points from your 72-hour emergency plan so a failed message doesn't mean a failed reunion.

Do I need a licence for a two-way radio? Short-range consumer radios like PMR446 in Europe generally don't need one; longer-range or higher-power radio use usually does. Check your national regulator before buying anything more powerful than basic consumer sets.

Will texts always get through when calls fail? No — they're more likely to, not guaranteed to. In a true outage, nothing gets through and you fall back to radio or in-person relay.

Ready.gov communication plans UK Ofcom on licence-free radio use