This topic

Digital Voice and power cuts

AcornSky — Wed, 04 May 2022 11:30:33 GMT

If I have fibre to the premises with digital voice, would I be able to plug my digital voice phone into a generator (in the same way that I would plug the fridge into it) and have it work? I'm not concerned about using the connection for anything else under these circumstances.

I know that battery packs are available, but when we have power cuts they tend to be for 6+ hours. We have no mobile signal at home.

Re: Digital Voice and power cuts

licquorice — Wed, 04 May 2022 11:34:59 GMT

240volts is 240volts whatever the source, mains or generator.

You will need to power the ONT and hub as well as the phone base station.

Re: Digital Voice and power cuts

AcornSky — Wed, 04 May 2022 11:39:57 GMT

So there would be three things that needed plugging into 'mains'-type sockets? They do have standard plugs? Thank you.

Re: Digital Voice and power cuts

licquorice — Wed, 04 May 2022 11:44:13 GMT

Of course, they are just normal mains powered devices. You already have a home hub presumably.

You probably wouldn't need to power the handset base station, the handset batteries will probably outlast the power outage.

Re: Digital Voice and power cuts

AcornSky — Wed, 04 May 2022 11:48:01 GMT

We don't have fibre yet - getting it is dependent on being able to make sure we are contactable in the event of a power cut. It looks as though there may be a bit of light at the end of the tunnel.

Thanks.

Re: Digital Voice and power cuts

AcornSky — Wed, 04 May 2022 12:15:19 GMT

And a related question. If we were to have a battery pack, how long would it last if we did not use the internet during a power cut, but just kept it for incoming (and maybe brief outgoing) phone calls?

Re: Digital Voice and power cuts

licquorice — Wed, 04 May 2022 12:21:50 GMT

Not sure what you mean by battery pack.

For digital voice to operate, you need to power the ONT (optical modem) and Home Hub (router). The Digital Voice handset is just a variation on a standard cordless phone handset which you would only expect to charge at fairly lengthy intervals.

Re: Digital Voice and power cuts

AcornSky — Wed, 04 May 2022 12:30:58 GMT

This is from the BT website:

"A battery back-up unit (BBU) may be provided by the engineer when your Openreach fibre modem is installed. If provided, it enables your fibre home phone line to continue working in the event of a mains power cut in your home. This means you will still be able to make and receive calls for up to an hour."

I see that it isn't intended to give internet, but it is still pretty ambiguous as to whether it means an hour of calls (which would imply a longer period of emergency coverage), or an hour during which you can make calls.

Re: Digital Voice and power cuts

licquorice — Wed, 04 May 2022 12:40:29 GMT

That refers to a bbu that was provided to power the ONT for the now discontinued fibre Voice system.

It is not entirely certain what the current situation is regarding battery backup for the ONT and hub but as far as I'm aware they will only be available for vulnerable customers and will only be useful for short power outages.

If you have a generator, that will be a much better solution.

Re: Digital Voice and power cuts

AcornSky — Wed, 04 May 2022 13:04:13 GMT

I was told by BT sales last week that (what they called) battery packs were available at a cost of about £85, but would only last for an hour. Mind you, they told me other things that weren't true, so maybe that isn't either.

We don't have a generator - that is one of our options (or possibly the only one) to make fibre possible for us. We need to do a lot of research into solar powered generators because we are not keen on spending £1000 on a petrol powered one that would also be very noisy. I am somewhat desperately looking for an alternative solution.

I think we may be going to have to just give up.

Re: Digital Voice and power cuts

gg30340 — Wed, 04 May 2022 14:52:34 GMT

You can get "briefcase" petrol generators that are fairly quiet and will supply sufficient power. Branded names start at about £300 upwards.

Obviously the more devices you want to run the more powerful the generator will need to be and bigger means more cost.

Re: Digital Voice and power cuts

AcornSky — Wed, 04 May 2022 15:03:19 GMT

Thank you - I will look into that. We've managed without for years, but it would be nice to be able to use the fridge during a power cut.

Re: Digital Voice and power cuts

jac_95 — Wed, 04 May 2022 20:25:13 GMT

Some helpful tips and ideas on how to achieve this at https://landlinesgo.digital/powercut/