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Staying connected: modems, phones and radios in an outage

In a storm or quake, the first thing people want is information: how bad is it, are roads open, is the family safe. That depends on more than your own power.

Your end of the connection

Fibre, copper and fixed wireless broadband all need power at your end. When the house goes dark, the modem and router go with it, and with them wifi calling and internet news. A modem and router use very little power, so keeping them running is one of the cheapest things backup can do. Instant switch-over in UPS mode means they do not even reboot when the grid drops.

What it would keep running

  • Fibre or fixed wireless modem
  • Wifi router
  • Cordless phone base
  • Phone and power bank charging
  • Radio charging

The network's end

Your connection also depends on equipment you do not control. Cell towers, exchanges and fixed wireless sites have their own backup, and in a long regional outage that backup can run down. Rural areas served by a single tower are especially exposed. So keeping your modem running is no guarantee of a connection if the tower down the valley has gone flat.

That is why a battery-powered or wind-up radio stays on every emergency list. Broadcast radio keeps reaching you even when phone and internet networks have dropped, and emergency information is often put out on local radio first. A radio also uses so little power that its batteries last for days, which makes it the one link that does not depend on anything else working.

How it works →
The H2OME loop: an electrolyser splits water into hydrogen, the hydrogen is stored in a tank for weeks, a fuel cell turns it into electricity for your home, and the water returns to the loop.

A layered plan

Keep the modem, router and any cordless phone base on the backup circuits. Keep phones and a power bank charged. Have a radio with spare batteries, and know which local station carries civil defence updates. Agree with family where you will meet and who will call whom if networks are patchy. Text messages often get through when calls do not, so keep messages short.

Questions

Will my landline work in a power cut?

Most home phone services now run through a modem and need power to work. Old copper lines that carried power from the exchange are largely gone. Keep the modem on backup, and keep a mobile charged as a second option.

Can backup keep the cell tower running?

No. Towers have their own backup power owned by the network operator. A home system keeps your end of the connection working, but cannot help if the network itself goes down.

How much power does a modem use?

Very little compared with a heater or kettle. Check the plate on its power supply for the exact figure. It is one of the smallest loads in the house and should run for the whole outage while storage lasts.

More in outages, weather and how it works

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