Outages Highlight Worries on Phone Networks

Local officials and first responders in storm-battered coastal New Jersey faced a daunting task last week: communicating with stricken residents whose cellphones and cable-company landline phones didn't work. The failure highlights regulators' concerns about the reliability of communications networks as more people switch entirely to cellphones or get landline service from their cable-TV providers. Those networks are governed by few federal rules or guidelines aimed at ensuring their dependability, and the telecom industry has fought off such oversight even as it has heavily promoted its wireless-service plans.