emergency plan for internet downtime

terra_ferma

I was wondering what measures people have in place to access the internet when their home/work broadband is down or they have a powercut (assuming they don't already have a mobile dongle they normally use), when access is absolutely critical (e.g. people who work exclusively online and from home).

Carer

We work from home and have a works Galaxy Tab 2 with a sim card in, so we can use the mobile phone network to access the internet if we need to.
Also it's really useful if we are out and about.
Oh and the sim is Giffgaff, so no need for contracts so it costs very little.

phill99

Buy yourself an iPad with 3G on it. Providing its charged you can still access the world outside.

And in reality, power cuts are very rare in the UK. So your chances of being without power are quite slim.

terra_ferma

Even if chances are slim, we need an emergency plan everything we do relies on IT and internet connection.

We already have tablets, although they only have wifi, but they would not be suitable because I wouldn't be able to use the software I need, a laptop would go half way there, and I could still perform critical tasks.

phill99

terra_ferma wrote: »

Even if chances are slim, we need an emergency plan everything we do relies on IT and internet connection.

We already have tablets, although they only have wifi, but they would not be suitable because I wouldn't be able to use the software I need, a laptop would go half way there, and I could still perform critical tasks.

So buy a generator.

doningtonphil

Do you have mobile phones? I have a sony with unlimited data. You can convert the phone into a wireless hotspot using the mobile signal. The wifi on your tablets can then tune into that

longtimelurkersam

phill99 wrote: »

So buy a generator.

I have a £50 ALDI/LIDL special in the garage, it is bloody noisy so all the neighbours can hear it as of course it is extra quite but it does the trick when I want to still enjoy my luxuries like light and TV and internet.

terra_ferma

doningtonphil wrote: »

Do you have mobile phones? I have a sony with unlimited data. You can convert the phone into a wireless hotspot using the mobile signal. The wifi on your tablets can then tune into that

Thank you for the helpful suggestion, I didn't know you could do that, I'll look into it.
Can you tell me what I would need, tried a search on google but didn't find much.

Lifeforms

It's called tethering. You need a phone capable of doing it, aka a smartphone,
However you could get an emergency set up by buying something like a mifi (making sure to charge regularly to ensure it has power when needed) and a 1 month, or 3 month sim ready to use in it.

Tethering works on your own data allowance being used to create a wifi spot which means other things can connect. Essentially you need decent data to do it often, and make sure you can do tethering through your mobile provider (some dont care, some say they do, and some say sure go ahead!). You of course need a phone capable of doing it, so if you can surf on your phone (properly, not through wap) then it almost should be able to do it.

googler

longtimelurkersam wrote: »

I have a £50 ALDI/LIDL special in the garage, it is bloody noisy so all the neighbours can hear it as of course it is extra quite but it does the trick when I want to still enjoy my luxuries like light and TV and internet.

So do you run a cable from that to the room with the PCs, or do you have some switching gear on the house's consumer board?

paulwf

terra_ferma wrote: »

Even if chances are slim, we need an emergency plan everything we do relies on IT and internet connection.

We already have tablets, although they only have wifi, but they would not be suitable because I wouldn't be able to use the software I need, a laptop would go half way there, and I could still perform critical tasks.

Computer failure is just as likely as broadband or electricity failure so getting a second computer in the form of a laptop sounds like the way to go. It will also allow you to decamp to a coffee shop with wifi if the power/broadband goes down, sitting in the dark won't be much fun!

Google for a ups - uninterrupted power supply - which is probably better as a battery backup than getting a generator in the garage. If you go down the laptop route then keep the battery charged and keep a spare one charged...that should give you 6+ hours of uptime depending on the model.

A mobile dongle is cheap or as others have said tether to your mobile. Also invest in a spare wifi router, they are cheap. Routers commonly pack up without any warning, a collection of spare power cords and fuses has also got me out of trouble more than once.

So...ups for your desktop, backup laptop, backup laptop battery, backup router and mobile dongle. It all depends how critical is critical of course