I can't imagine that the RBOCs are investing millions and millions of dollars a year to build and maintain expensive battery back-up systems with on-site diesel generators at many sites without there being some kind of regulatory requirement. I suspect it will be buried somewhere in the FCC CFR in the US and in similar places in other countries.
Just curious - for those of you working outside of Canada/USA, do your POTS phones work when the commercial AC is out? ...Marko From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]]On Behalf Of ext jshinn Sent: Monday, November 22, 2004 4:03 PM To: 'Chris Maxwell'; 'Richards, Carl'; [email protected] Subject: RE: Should telephones still work during power loss? Especially in the US, with the de-regulation of the Bell telephone system and allowing the CPE to belong to the customer, the customer was now free to install any system (including phone) desired so long as it met the requirements of the FCC Rules under Part 68. The rules did not require, nor does it presently require, that the CPE remain available during a power outage (at the customer's location). TIA/EIA 968 continues in this approach of not requiring the CPE to be available during a power outage. The telco has made a conscious decision to use batteries to supply power during such situation as loss of electric power. This is a hold-over from the early days of the Bell system when commercial power was not available at the reliability levels of today. On the use of an analog phone vs. digital. Both a POT (Plane old Telephone - a telco line powered phone such as the Western Electric 500 or 2500 set) and many other phones, both cordless and non-cordless, which require power from the house wiring are both analog. The Digital types usually come with a PBX and are generally found in offices. Only the POTS will work with a local power outage, but not when it connected behind a PBX which is not operating on battery backup. In general, it up to the customer (owner of the CPE) to determine is they want continuous phone service during a power outage or not. For the fiber, in the near future, the plan in many parts of the US is to provide fiber to the demarcation point. The plan is to place an interface unit there, using the customers power to charge and maintain a set of batteries that will provide approximately 4 hours of phone service (to a POT). I have no idea who will be responsible for maintenance (buying and replacing) of the batteries. John Shinn, P.E. Manager, Lab Operations Sanmina-SCI (408) 904-2080 [email protected] From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Chris Maxwell Sent: Monday, November 22, 2004 1:12 PM To: Richards, Carl; [email protected] Subject: RE: Should telephones still work during power loss? As an example, I think that many typical cordless phones don't work during a power outage. IIRC, the last time we had a power outage at home, we had to resort to the old standby (copper through and through) because the cordless was worthless. On the other hand, the phone company tries to keep their part of the system working even in a power outage (hence the fact that the regular phone still works). This becomes a big issue with fiber to the home. Where does backup power come from?? Our local cable company installed car batteries at their fiber repeaters. Good idea; but also a prime target for thieves and vandals. Chris Maxwell Design Engineer Nettest From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Richards, Carl Sent: Monday, November 22, 2004 2:52 PM To: [email protected] Subject: RE: Should telephones still work during power loss? This did used to be an FCC and a UK BABT requirement, late 80's to mid 90's. It used to be based on TTE over a certain trunk capacity. We dealt with it in two ways: - Power Fail cutover of Analog lines to POTs via a switch over unit. - Emergency Power Options such as 48VDC back up. It's no longer an issue other than when a customer demands it or if it forms part of the product offering. Carl Richards, Regulatory Compliance Manager, Aspect Communications E-mail [email protected] Tel +44 (0)208 589 1461 Fax +44 (0)870 460 1950 From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]]On Behalf Of Peter L. Tarver Sent: 22 November 2004 11:43 To: [email protected] Subject: RE: Should telephones still work during power loss? Dan - The OP was looking at service at the subscriber's end, not the CO end. That the CO wants to make the last $0.0025 on services, even as their CO is falling down in ashes around them, is another consideration altogether. I could find no legal basis under which telephone service providers are required to maintain any particular level of service. I used the think this was so, some few years ago, but I was operating under a misapprehension. Regards, Peter L. Tarver, PE [email protected] > -----Original Message----- > From: Dan Anchondo [mailto:[email protected]] > Sent: Monday, November 22, 2004 10:50 AM > To: [email protected]; [email protected] > Subject: RE: Should telephones still work during > power loss? > > > All > I can't site the reference or law for telephone > reliability but I would > think that the 99.9 reliability clauses would be > in a Telcordia Standard > because the shake, bake,freeze tests are a part > of GR-63. > > Regards > Dan Anchondo This message is from the IEEE Product Safety Engineering Society emc-pstc discussion list. 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