Telephone Networks (and alternate uses for them)

[Olefin]

I can bet that not one of the original canon authors had the knowledge of how easy it would be to restore some kind of phone service. There is a good possibility that none of them were in the Signal Corps and knew about things like how the Army could use their field switchboards to hook up to civilian lines to restore service. And if you have phone service then you have at least regional communication which would go a long way towards helping to keep the country together even in a Howling Wildness situation.