Afghanistan's UNICEF representative Eric Larouche told CNN his organisation still has about 70 national staff in Afghanistan, but they have no means of communication because the Taliban sealed all lines.

CNN: Flood of Afghan refugees feared

"Throughout all this it has been a one-way system and at no point have we had proper communication from Orange, " she said.

BBC: North Yorkshire villagers' fury over mobile signal loss

The fact that many people no longer have a landline, they only have wireless communication, and they need to make sure that they take the steps to make sure they're ready for that, but also realize that you're going to have a lot of congestion and difficulties getting through so you want to have backup plans.

WHITEHOUSE: Press Briefing

Wednesday marks the second day of the Conclave, during which 115 cardinals have locked themselves up in the Sistine Chapel, with no outside communication, with the aim of choosing a new pope.

WSJ: Black Smoke Signals No Pope Yet

Because of these continuing doubts, the lack of communication and the breakdown in trust, we have decided that we can no longer continue in government.

BBC: Talks due on Republic of Ireland election date

In the WikiLeaks era, where no communication can be considered secure, corporate leaders on the cusp of announcing market moving information have a need to be increasingly vigilant and ensure that sensitive information remains protected.

FORBES: Data Security: A Shareholder Protection Imperative

In the U.S., Europe and parts of Asia which are deeply saturated with smart, mobile devices, consumers may eventually decide the smartest machines they own are no longer pocketable slabs for wireless communication, but the watch or glasses they can wear and barely have to handle.

FORBES: Why iWatch And Google Glass Could Make Smartphones Dumb

Home Office security and counter-terrorism head Charles Farr told the committee that existing provisions had been "overtaken by technical changes in the communications industry and in the way people use communication, with the result that the data that public authorities have had access to in the past is no longer as readily available to them as it used to be".

BBC: Public consultation on 'web snooping' plans ends