When the cell towers are out, I would like to communicate with friends and family within a five to ten mile radius reliably (within hilly territory) and perhaps up to fifty miles away. I would like to be able to limit the distance so as not to hear conversations hundreds of miles away.
It would be good to hear the local police and maybe, be able to communicate with them.
Recommendations?
@Poppy Have everyone you want to communicate with, get a landline phone. As I understand it, regular LL phones have battery backup through the phone company. So even if cell towers are down or overloaded, you may be able to get through. I say maybe, because official traffic has priority, and you could be bumped and have the call drop. I highly doubt if you had fiber optic internet with VoIP that that would happen though, due to the high volume capability.
To listen to public safety agencies, contact scannermaster.com, and they can tell you whether or not you need a trunk tracking analog or digital scanner, and what digital systems to plug into the radio. They can pre-program it and set it all up for you.