Fios station connected to street power

[ThunderPuss]

So it’s happened again, the neighborhood lost power. I’ve got a UPS on both the router and the ONT, all lights are green but no internet. Is it safe to assume the station that supplies the internet signal is also on the same power lines and just doesn’t use a backup generator? Wondering why I need my UPS if no signal is even being delivered to the house.

[CRobGauth]

Really a hard question to answer.

I have had neighborhood power outages and service was fine as long as I powered ONT.

So depends on your area.

[jonjones1]

In the olden days of copper the phone company supplied its own electrical current to be able to use the phone. However in the present time the general use of power and its backups is what sends the signal to your home. If the power is out up the pipe then it’s jyst the apc that is keeping power to your ONT and router. But since no power up the pipe it cannot get a signal to these devices .

as things improve the worse it gets.

when our power went out last summer the apc worked perfectly. And since there was power at the CO we had working internet.

[ThunderPuss]

And the strange thing is I can still get landline phone service as long as my cordless base has power. As a remote worker I depend on internet service for my job so I’d rather have internet than the phone service. I can always use my cell phone for calls. 

[jonjones1]

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@ThunderPusswrote:

And the strange thing is I can still get landline phone service as long as my cordless base has power. As a remote worker I depend on internet service for my job so I’d rather have internet than the phone service. I can always use my cell phone for calls. 

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Exactly my point. Copper phone has power, that was one of the great things over the newer fiber or VoIP phone services. It’s always a good idea to have a non cordless phone in your home just in case.

[smith6612]

Generally, FiOS service will power down the Internet and Television portion of the ONT if the power is lost to the battery backup unit. I would double check to make sure your ONT is actually connected to a battery backed outlet on the UPS and not accidentally running into the mains only outlet. Many UPSs have such a configuration available.

On the backend, Verizon's COs have power backup. FiOS being a passive network, should remain fully functional provided the fiber link between your home and the CO hasn't been damaged. If your home is virtually served off of some hut or subtended CO setup, I could see how the Internet portion may stop working, but I've not heard of FiOS being deployed in such a manner.

In FiOS areas, Verizon is making use of the FiOS network to install Microcells, or feed macrocells for their wireless network. They would certainly have power backup available for the cellular network, which has heavy reliance on Internet/IP Connectivity.