Did you know that your Direct Communications Internet will still work during a power outage? This is a unique and often overlooked cool feature that all Directcom customers can enjoy in Eagle Mountain. Because all of Direct Communications network and equipment is backed up by emergency generators and advanced battery power, even during an area-wide power outage, the Internet is still being delivered to each home on our network, even if the commercial power grid is down. However, some proactive preparedness will be required on your part, namely–make sure your own WiFi router or DSL modem (for DSL customers) inside your home is also powered by a battery backup so it will continue to deliver the signal to your tablets or other smart devices even in a power outage.

The only thing that would prevent a Direct Communications customer from surfing the Internet during a power outage would be a lack of power backup to their own devices inside the home. For example, most people do not think to power their own modems or routers with backup UPS or battery units. When the power goes out For Directcom fiber customers, all that would be required to use the Internet during a power outage would be to ensure that the router inside the home is powered by battery backup.

Direct Communications powers all our own equipment during an emergency or grid power outage.

All fiber equipment, including each ONT (optical Network Terminal) on each residential customer home is powered by a battery backup currently provided free of charge by Direct Communications. Even without a router, a fiber customer could plug his or her laptop directly into the ONT with an Ethernet cable and be instantly connected to the Internet during a power outage. But, if you simply powered your router with a battery backup, you could enjoy WIFI access on all your smart devices for as long as their battery lasts, so the kids could  in theory still stream Netflix to pass the time.

Note however, that the battery units supplying power to the fiber electronics box on your home are rated by regulation to provide phone service for about 8 hours. They were not designed or tested specifically with video streaming or constant data usage in mind, so we cannot say how long those, or your home router, will last with heavy internet use during a power outage. Try it and let us know.

For DSL customers, whose connection is powered directly over the copper wire from the battery bank in the office, all you would need is to put your modem and router (often a combo unit anyway) on a battery backup or UPS to be able to use both phone and Internet service during a power outage.

Wireless Internet providers will not work during a power outage because their radios on homes are not typically backed up by battery and the hub homes are not battery powered either. In our experience,  cell towers and cell services are also often affected by power outages too, and should not be relied on in an crisis. All Direct Communications customers in Eagle Mountain have emergency or regular landline service supplied with Internet service as part of our regulatory requirement. Just plug in a regular old school phone and you will have dialtone. If you have forgotten what your ephone number is, please call our office or look on your bill. For good emergency preparedness, trust Direct Communications to work in a crisis.