Everyone, it seems, noticed that during Hurricane Katrina, the cell phone system was gone with the wind (and the waves). In response to the experience of Katrina and a number of other natural and man-made disasters, the FCC has now mandated that all cell towers come with back-up power for at least eight hours of operation after the electric power distribution grid goes down. It's not as simple as just sticking a diesel generator at the foot of each tower--different towers have generation and storage requirements that range from hydrogen fuel cells to lead-acid batteries to diesel generators. While the requirements are different, the financial burden is estimated to be uniformly high, ranging from $5,000 to $10,000 in additional costs for every cell tower in the U.S. That's a lot of money, whether it's being counted on grid or backup power.

For more on the new FCC requirements:
- Read the regulation analysis [1] at WirelessWeek