Date: Mon, 29 Aug 2011 10:41:50 -0700 (PDT) >From: Hancock4 >To: snipped-for-privacy@invalid.telecom-digest.org. >Subject: Cable phone service disrupted from power outage >Message-ID:
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>Our area lost power from Hurricane Irene. Those of us with >traditional landline Verizon phones (and plain wired phones, not >cordless) never lost service. However, our neighbors with cable phone >service (Comcast) lost phone service as soon as the power went out. I >don't know why. >
>My cheapo electronic answering machine has battery backup (2 AA >cells), and that worked fine for 18 hours. My clock radios have a 9V >battery backup but they needed to be reset. (They work okay for brief >power outages). >
>Being without power is not fun, especially at night. I had >flashlights, but I need a lantern type light that shows a broad light >as opposed to the narrow spotlight of a flashlight.
My father had a VOIP phone towards the end of his life. I was concerned that he might not be able to call for assistance if there was a power outage. So I got him a UPS and set it up.
I plugged only the cable modem and his Linksys VOIP router into it. Since I did not plug the PC or any other device(s) into it, it would support those two devices for quite a while during a power outage.
He'd be able to call the electric company or emergency services in the event that power was out.
Before I did it, I spoke with Comcast. They insisted that if the local power went out that their system would remain in operation.
Fortunately, we never had to put it to the test.
Regards,
Fred