Mobile network down? Here's how you can keep your phone connected

For nationwide communications, you really do need phone towers and their supporting infrastructure

When Tropical Cyclone Debbie hit Queensland this week, one of the casualties was the region’s mobile phone network.

Phone towers can stop working because they have been damaged by the wind, or because they have run out of diesel to run their generators.

Whatever the cause, the end result is the same: a number of people will find their mobile phones not connected to the network, leaving them without communications for an extended period of time.

It’s not just tropical cyclones that can affect mobile communications. Bushfires and other disasters can also lead to