Internet in a blackout

[kelper]

During a recent blackout, we kept internet by powering the BTB Hub with a small, 12V battery and a universal laptop charger.  The hub needs 12V and the charger will maintain this as the battery voltage drops from nearly 13V fully charged to about 11.5V as it gets discharged.  I wonder how resilient the broadband connection is across the country?  And will the phone still work after the digital switchover?

This is also a reminder to keep a corded phone in the house, as this will make and receive calls, whereas a cordless phone won't work at all.

[kelper]

@AdamC

Do you think you can answer any of my questions ?  Thanks.

[AdamC]

Hi Kelper,

I will do my best to answer the questions and thank you for opening this up for discussion it is a very important topic and links in directly to the digital switch over that is happening across the UK.

Traditional phone lines will no longer be sold as of 5 September 2023, and by the end of 2025, the traditional PSTN network will close. 

Every phone line in the UK will have switched to a digital network that uses IP across fibre, SoADSL (copper wire broadband), mobile, and more. Digital will let our customers take their businesses on the go – whether that’s their home, or premises. The traditional phone network is a legacy product, which can’t keep up with the demands of modern–day communications. Globally, many countries are decommissioning their PSTN network and switching to digital. Now the UK’s doing the same.

Everything that connects through PSTN, like alarm lines, security systems and payment processing, will need to go digital, too.

The Network we use at BT Business is operated and controlled by OpenReach which part of the BT Group. OpenReach have 29,000 highly skilled and rated engineers which is more than any other network in the UK. Together their team has over half a million years of experience which they use to deliver the highest quality service.

Open Reach have quality of service standards set by OFCOM who set these after public consultation.

The information on this can be viewed Our performance FAQs | Openreach here.

Here in BT Business we also offer Hybrid Connect. If the broadband goes down, Hybrid Backup automatically switches the connection over to EE’s 4G network without skipping a beat. We’re so confident about our 4G backup that if the Hybrid Backup service fails to work within 30 minutes of a line fault, customers can claim £60 credit. This will be added to their account once the fault has been fixed.

If anyone in the community has any questions please join us as this is a very important topic and is progressing at pace.

Thank you

Adam