Planned Obsolescence in Lifts

This week I learned that mobile phones use mobile telephony for the emergency call system. This surprises me because I would expect them to use a fixed line rather than a mobile phone signal but also because when Swisscom or another telecom provider stop broadcasting on a frequency range like 3g, then all devices need to be updated to a newer standard. This means that all lifts need to be equipped with new mobile telephony devices.

If I had the power to change things I would leapfrog from 3g to 5g and I would see whether this system could be forward compatible with car charging for when cars are switched from petrol to electric. There is a chance to address two needs at once.

It’s a shame that we can’t just re-use an old phone as a modem interface between the lift and the 4g/5g network and that we can’t use wifi or some similar technology. To the best of my knowledge WiFi is backwards compatible.

And Finally

We see how rarely I use lifts, that I never noticed the lack of a mobile phone signal. I always run up and down the stairs if and when I have the chance. I will often explore and look for stairs, when I am not familiar with a building. The most recent example is when I parked at the airport beneath L’Aréna. I used the stairs.

The only time I use lifts is when I have camera gear or shopping. The rest of the time I run up and down stairs. This is a habit from spending most of my life living in places with several floors, including school, work and more. It’s just habit.