correct but FEMA has equipment to temporary restore cell service during an emergency.

@Lukian if there is any money left in FEMA. trump and the gop are looting as we type.

@silverotter11 that's a different matter but yes.

@Lukian As the world is finding out the orange slime is incidious we must stop the spread.

@silverotter11 there is research for finding a cure.... I hope.

That would not be the case for a mobile phone.

@Cast1es Cell towers don't work on Wifi.

@Lukian And here I thought that was the definition of wifi - wireless communication .

@Cast1es Wifi is for WLAN (Wireless Local Area Networks) [en.wikipedia.org]

@Lukian Exactly ! Thank you ! So when wifi is down it's not a matter of downed wires . It's possibly a matter of a problem at the towers , or at the stations . I've lost internet connections , and nothing gets to or from my wireless computer .

@Cast1es No, WIFI is for LOCAL networks: At home, office, buildings for laptops, printers etc... There is city wide WIFI that exist but mobile phones work on a completely different communication system altogether which is more robust than WIFI.
Cellphones work very well in disaster areas because most territories in the US are covered by several towers meaning if one is damaged, does not mean a total failure. Cell service also can be generated using a hot air balloon, blimp, special mobile trucks or even a plane.