Cable Internet During Power Outage

[jmed999]

I'm wanting to put my router, modem and home automation controller on a UPS so that if the power is out I can still get the HA controller to send me a text if the alarm is activated. The Elk M1G has battery backup so that will work once the power is off but I'm not sure if I will get the text. I hate to buy a UPS if it's not going to work, ya know?

How could I test it?

 

[sic0048]

It should work, but you need to measure the power usage of those components and figure out how much "run time" you are going to get if the electricity does go off. The Elk battery is likely to last much longer than a UPS unless your power draw is very small.

 

[jmed999]

I'm afraid it wont work and I'm reluctant to buy a UPS until I know if it will work. I already know to measure the wattage of the components and about the ELK battery.

Hoe can I find out for sure if my cable internet will work during a power outage? I'm afraid to call the company to ask because the person answering the phone may give me the wrong info.

 

[gatchel]

How could I test it?

Come up with a plan and turn off breakers...You are still relying on the cable system to be up and running once the power fails. That would be the only thing you can't control without another method of email transmission.

Also, adding a UPS to the mix is never a bad thing if you care about the equipment regardless of the intended functionality.

 

[jmed999]

Come up with a plan and turn off breakers...You are still relying on the cable system to be up and running once the power fails. That would be the only thing you can't control without another method of email transmission.

Thanks!

What if it's a wide spread power outage (weather related, car hits a pole down the street, etc.) How can I test that? How will I know if it will work then?

Thanks again!

 

[gatchel]

Hoe can I find out for sure if my cable internet will work during a power outage? I'm afraid to call the company to ask because the person answering the phone may give me the wrong info.

Throw a really large chain across the top 3 wires on your nearest power pole... :rofl: Just Kidding obvoiusly......

You will never get a true test until an outage occurs. There could be several cable company power supplies with batteries in them (for cable amplifiers and nodes) between you and the main communications center. Every point is a possible point of failure. Hope for the best or get a backup solution.

 

[wuench]

The only thing you can do is call the cable company and ask. But with outages occurring outside of your house, all bets are off.

If you really want to worry about something, what if someone snips or disconnects your cable line and then breaks in. That is probably a more likely scenario than a burglar just happening to break in when the power is out in the neighborhood, unless it is a long term power outage, in which case your Elk battery will be drained anyway.

If you are worried about such things, then phone line and cell backup are your best options.

 

[jpmargis]

If you are worried about such things, then phone line and cell backup are your best options.

:hesaid:

 

[rsw686]

An APC 350VA desktop UPS would work and only costs around $50. With 50w of load you will have around 15min runtime. I have all my network gear on APC UPS's for peace of mind. If the power flickers the equipment doesn't hang or reboot. I prefer 30-45 min runtime so I usually will purchase a higher VA, but the 350VA will be plenty to send out an email notification.

 

[jmed999]

Ok I have my answer. I talked to a tech guy at my ISP. If the power goes out I will still have internet as long as the head unit doesn't lose power. They can't tell me where the head unit is due to security reasons.

So if the power is cut at my house I will have internet. If someone hits a pole close by and several houses lose power I will most likely have internet. If the entire area is without power (ie. weather issues) I may lose internet until they get the generators to the head unit. It all depends on the location of the head unit. I'll test it the next time the power goes out.

 

[tmbrown97]

As mentioned, there are a ton of factors that come into play. If your cable internet provider offers telephone service as part of the bundle, then you may be in much better shape as E911 requirements are very strict as far as how long they must provide power - so they'll be very likely to have protection at every point along the way. Internet carries no such requirements and it could go any time.

 

[tadr]

Mine works during power outages. Like you, I connected my router, modem, and XEP to a UPS (Cyber 1350 AVRLCD from Costco for $90). Lasts for hours and hours.

 

[pmb1010]

As mentioned, there are a ton of factors that come into play. If your cable internet provider offers telephone service as part of the bundle, then you may be in much better shape as E911 requirements are very strict as far as how long they must provide power - so they'll be very likely to have protection at every point along the way. Internet carries no such requirements and it could go any time.

I'll have to ask the Time Warner guy next time I see him... in my area, when neighborhood power goes out, my internet goes out, including IP based TV. So my OOMA system also goes out.
Here's a blurb from TimeWarner, saying that they don't guarantee E911 in event of their own network outage. And it sure looks like they know the address based on their records on file & the users network device MAC address. http://www.oceanic.com/products/phone/residential/features/e911

 

[linuxha]

I suspect that it works this way (using telco descriptions)

[ Home ] --- [ Plant ] --- [ Central Office ]

Plant is everything from your home back to the CO, so cable, repeaters, routers, pole mounted equipment, huts, etc. back to the CO.

If you lose power to your home, your battery backup or generator can supply power and you'll be fine as long as that lasts.

If you lose power on the street any Plant powered by that power will only last as long as it's backup power lasts (I have Comcast whose battery doesn't look very large and it's working fiber which is power hungry).

After Sandy Comcast and Verizon had generators on the equipment for a few weeks.

Power loss at the CO (Central Office) is usually handled by batteries (less so now) and generators.

The Plain Old Telephone Service has federal requirements for backup power and that should continue to operate under many of the worst conditions. While about 1 in 3 calls failed in my area, we had tone, we received calls and could make calls after a few minutes of trying. FIOS and Xfinity were dead until the backup was established. This was a very nasty disaster.

BTW, I'm keeping my POTS line for as long as I can. It may be 100+ year old tech but it's made to work in the worst.

Don't take any of this as a criticism of the Telco or cable companies. They worked very hard in our area to restore all service.

 

[Monk]

Mine also works during outages. Since ~ '09 I've had all my 12V items power supplied by an ELK-P412. Have had maybe 4-5 outages and have always had Internet during. The P-412 has lasted > than 2 hours powering 2 routers, cable modem & dsl modem.