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[Bowdon]

I'm just having a look at battery back up solutions for the FTTP connection.

But looking at the new smaller OR ONT, where does the battery backup connect? There doesn't seem to be a connection for it?

[j0hn]

The battery backup units simply connect to the power port on the ONT.
The BBU port on the older ONT's were just for battery telemetry data, just to tell you how much charge was left in the batteries basically.

That will only power the ONT though and won't help with powering your router. Your will need a UPS to power the router which you may as well use to power the ONT while you're at it.

The BBU's only really served a purpose for making emergency calls for those with FVA (fibre voice access), making calls via the ONT's telephone port.
It's no longer possible to order FVA and none of the current ONT's even have a phone port anymore.

[meritez]

I'm expecting a few more threads regarding this due to this announcement:
https://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2022/07/ofcom-monitors-uk-internet-phone-providers-over-999-concerns.html

[Alex Atkin UK]

I just use one of these as recommended by @Weaver.

Considering the ONT only uses 2.4W max, it should run for quite a while.

Of course the rest of the network will only run for 5-10 minutes on its UPS, but at least it leaves the option to temporarily plug in a laptop to the ONT.

[broadstairs]

In case of a wide area power cut what is the vulnerability of the fibre connection? Is there any way it could be interrupted in these situations? I know in general exchanges have generators but is there anything between the fibre exchange and the home premises which would fail and cause no internet? If so having a UPS/battery backup is a moot point.

Stuart

[Alex Atkin UK]

On Openreach it should work so long as the headend exchange doesn't lose power, other than the odd exception where they need active electronics further out such as extremely rural areas.

On Virgin, CityFibre, etc their equipment is on the street so the same problem as FTTC.

[Weaver]

In a power outage, I need to keep router, WAPs, two switches and three modems powered. I need a much better main UPS for all that lot. The WAPs are taken care of by the small DC UPSs linked to above. Really I need to keep things going for enough time to get my generator started and that’s quite a long time because there’s no-one to help my poor missus start it up (as I’m not very mobile).

If I lost power to my ONT, if I only had one, then that would be the last of my power worries; there are so many other items that are critical. I have ‘powerbanks’ for the iPads and the iPads have 4G so I could at least talk over the internet, wouldn’t ever be isolated, even if the main LAN lost power. Just have to make sure that I can always find the powerbanks and that they are always kept fully charged.

[Alex Atkin UK]

Yeah I have a bigger 12V DC UPS on an LED strip in the hall that provides ambient lighting, as well as another brighter LED strip in there run off a PoE port on the switch.  As well as several powerbanks lying around with cheap USB LEDs I can plug into them.  So in the event of a power cut, we at least have lighting without resorting to candles which are dangerous and also very bad for our Asthma.

Keeping the network up is something I only now really need to think about, to try to keep VoIP working in case the mobile towers went down.

I'd have a bigger UPS on the core network but I don't have the space for one.

[Bowdon]

I'll look in to this some more.

Thanks for the info and links.

[tiffy]

After FTTP install in March, retaining land line with BT digital voice, adopted this ONT power mode:
https://forum.kitz.co.uk/index.php/topic,26792.msg451455.html#msg451455

Obviously won't suit everyone but an easy solution for my particular circumstances as I had already installed an ethernet cable from the ONT to Hub location which was adjacent to my existing UPS unit powering the Hub and digital voice phone handset.
Added bonus of no local PSU/power socket required at the ONT.

Never did get around to trying to get the PoE splitter into the ONT back box as originally intended!