Solar flares culprit behind dropped cellphone calls, research shows

TORONTO — You can stop blaming elevators, subways and bridges for dropped cellphone calls.

New Queen’s University-led research says the sun may be the real culprit.

The problem is solar flares — the fiery storms on the sun’s surface behind the Northern Lights.

The scientists found that during solar flares, cellphones routed through towers with antennas facing the sun had higher rates of dropped calls.

The connection could also explain why there are more dropped calls in the summer than in the winter.

The findings will be published in the next edition of the journal “Proceedings of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.”

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