Internet in power cut

Alter_ego

Heedtheadvice said:

In that case if you have a  mobile phone...just use that and save a lot of hassle?

PAYG with no data

Grey_Critic

***Our router receives power from a plug in transformer (12v) ***

Which will be an Alternating Current (AC) supply

***If I provide a 12v supply from a battery during a power cut ***

Which will be delivering Direct Current (DC) supply

Is it that important that you need the Internet in the case of a power cut. As others have said you could use your mobile as a Hot Spot - But then depending how widespread the outage that may not work.

[Deleted User]

Grey_Critic said:

***Our router receives power from a plug in transformer (12v) ***

Which will be an Alternating Current (AC) supply

Very unlikely that any low-voltage power supply to a router will be AC.

Why would the power supply not rectify to DC for a device that can only use DC electricity?

Alter_ego

Phone is PAYG no data. Power at router is 12v DC.

Heedtheadvice

Ok so mobile idea to use or as a hot spot is a non starter.

If you are competent with electricity even as a DIYer to make safely: ( and that might be doubted given your questions)

12v battery fed through a suitably sized fuse should work for a while till discharged. Time will depend upon current drawn by the router and the battery useable capacity.

Care needs to be taken with battery connections to ensure correct polarity supplied to the router PLUS to ensure the battery is not short circuited as that can result in a massive current flow burns or fire and destruction of the connection  cable or other short circuit method. The assumption here is you use a sealed car type battery, a gel type battery or similar (for cost and sufficient capacity reasons). From fully charged a 40Ah battery would give you 20 hours of use at 1amp router current and cost maybe £60 upwards plus enclosure connectors etc.

Use cable & connectors etc that are suitable for the current required by the router and no heavier and fuse physically close to the battery at the same level and use a switch as well.

If you are not competent and can not buy a backup supply or a smart mobile with data then for safety reasons give it a miss and enjoy peace and quiet and a natural moment or more.

Alter_ego

Heedtheadvice said:

Ok so mobile idea to use or as a hot spot is a non starter.

If you are competent with electricity even as a DIYer to make safely: ( and that might be doubted given your questions)

12v battery fed through a suitably sized fuse should work for a while till discharged. Time will depend upon current drawn by the router and the battery useable capacity.

Care needs to be taken with battery connections to ensure correct polarity supplied to the router PLUS to ensure the battery is not short circuited as that can result in a massive current flow burns or fire and destruction of the connection  cable or other short circuit method. The assumption here is you use a sealed car type battery, a gel type battery or similar (for cost and sufficient capacity reasons). From fully charged a 40Ah battery would give you 20 hours of use at 1amp router current and cost maybe £60 upwards plus enclosure connectors etc.

Use cable & connectors etc that are suitable for the current required by the router and no heavier and fuse physically close to the battery at the same level and use a switch as well.

If you are not competent and can not buy a backup supply or a smart mobile with data then for safety reasons give it a miss and enjoy peace and quiet and a natural moment or more.

Thanks for your very succinct and comprehensive answer, much appreciated. I am competent elec/DIY The main point of my question was to get opinions on whether the cabinet/exchange would still be functioning.. However I had overlooked the need for a fuse, so thanks again.

matelodave

Most exchanges used to have back up diesel generators and batteries and could therefore survive a fairly prolong power outage, However most of us with internet (FTTC) are not connected directly to the exchange anymore but via a street cabinet, some but not all of which will have a back-up battery capable of providing up to four hours.I'm not sure about FTTP as it's possible that comes direct from the exchange rather than needing an intermediate DSLAM like FTTC - it would depend on the network configuration.

In fact, it's a better than even chance that even if you've only got a landline phone, it might not be connected direct to the exchange anymore but via a remote line unit in a cabinet which is connected back to the exchange via optical fibres. In which case you won't have the benefit of a prolonged back-up like an exchange connected phone but you'd rely on the capacity of the back-up batteries.

Even in the good old days, most local exchanges had batteries but not generators and so had a relatively short standby time (hours rather than days).

It's a similar situation with mobile phone cabinets unless it's a major node with a standby generator it will probably only have back up for a few hours. The only way to keep them powered would need a mobile generator to be brought to the cabinet/base station.


Major data centres usually have both back up batteries and generators but there is a big cost to providing all this infrastructure.

Think of the phone and data networks a bit like the road network - major centres are connected by major roads and there's usually a decent amount of backup but it gradually deteriorates as it gets further to the periphery of the network as the cost of servicing backup to fewer and fewer people become prohibitive.

prowla

I think the street cabinets are the things at risk.

You could also consider a UPS in your house, which would probably keep the router powered for an extended period.

(Of course, you would be paying for the electric to keep it charged...)

Alderbank

If you have OpenReach's residential FTTP, this is a passive optical network from the exchange to your home so does not require any power.
However the optical fibre does not plug directly into your router. It relies on the powered optical network terminal (ONT) so you need to make sure your UPS also powers the ONT.

steviebabes

This would do the job - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Eaton-3S-Mini-black-white/dp/B092TG9M7C/ref=sr_1_8?keywords=router+ups+power+supply+uk&qid=1665919899&qu=eyJxc2MiOiIyLjkyIiwicXNhIjoiMS4wMCIsInFzcCI6IjAuMDAifQ==&sr=8-8

Not sure how long it would power a router for, it says 36W but not sure how that relates to run time.