Man survives snowboarding accident after managing to connect to a 3G network and calling for help
These days, pretty much all phones support 4G networks at the bare minimum, but remember back in the day when 3G was the new kid on the block and how amazed we were by its speed compared to 2G/EDGE networks? Now with 5G already hitting several markets, we’re starting to see some carriers sunset their 3G networks to free up spectrum.
Thankfully though, it seems that not all 3G networks have been shuttered yet because otherwise this would have been a very different story. According to a story in The New York Post, 41-year old Tim Blakey was snowboarding by himself 10,000 feet up in the Swiss Mountain where a hidden gap in the ice resulted in him falling 15 feet.
He was about 16 feet below the ice but somehow, his iPhone which had about 3% battery left managed to hook him onto a 3G signal where he used the device’s Emergency Services shortcut to call for help. Thankfully, being connected to a 3G network allowed him to get in contact with the Swiss Rescue team who managed to get to his location in about 45 minutes.
It seems that apart from the fall, Blakey did not suffer more serious injuries apart from a ligament injury to his ankle. In a post on Instagram, Blakey thanked Apple for the Emergency Services shortcut feature and his rescuers. While the emphasis seems to be placed on the iPhone’s Emergency Services shortcut, to be fair almost all Android devices do offer similar emergency features as well.
“To walk /hobble away from this relatively unharmed & make my flight back to London that evening is quite the headf*ck. Life 2.0 starts now. Thank you to all my close friends and family for all your support and love. It’s been really really amazing. I obviously promise never to do it again mum and dad. Sorry. 😬😘”
Source: PhoneArena