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The soaring popularity of cellular phones in California is so straining on the 911 system that people who use a cell phone to report an emergency are forced to wait on hold up to 15 minutes. Tens of thousands of cell 911 callers in the Bay Area alone hang up in frustration before ever reaching a dispatcher. And motorists who use roadside callboxes fare even worse, languishing up to 23 minutes waiting for somebody to pick up the phone. (September 1, 1996)