Scientists find reason for dropped calls

Link: TheStar.com – sciencetech – Solar flares the culprit when cell calls dropped

Scientists at Canada’s Queen’s University have been trying to work out why mobile calls drop for no apparent reason – and the good news is they think they’ve got an answer. The bad news is – there’s not a lot you can do about it.

The problem is caused by solar flares – the fiery storms on the sun’s surface that create the Northern Lights effect. Thomson and his team found that during solar flares, phones routed through cellphone towers with antennas facing the sun had higher rates of dropped calls. The rate could be as high as nine per cent, calculated during one morning rush hour in the U.S. Midwest. This connection between the sun and dropped calls, says Thomson, explains why the number of dropped calls increase in the summer compared to winter.

Thanks to Krystal for the tip!