Battery Backup

The following is important information about fiber-fed telephone service.

Traditional landline phones typically work in a power outage because the copper line system provides its power. A fiber-fed telephone system is powered by electricity from your home and will not work when the power is off. A Fiber-fed system requires a battery backup to operate in the event of a power outage. Other equipment in your home that requires a voice connection (some medical devices) may also be affected by power outages if not connected to a battery backup.

The Optical Network Terminal (ONT) is the component of a fiber-fed system that connects the fiber optic cable with your inside wiring. For your phone to work, the ONT must be plugged into power. The ONT requires battery power in the event of a power outage.

During a power failure or surge, an Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) or battery backup is needed to sustain the ONT’s power to avoid interruption to landline service.

In the event of an emergency during a power failure, your landline phone will not be able to place a call to emergency services without a battery backup.

Copper Valley Telecom has battery backups available. When you receive a battery backup, we encourage customers to review the information that comes with the UPS. Any replacement or warranty issues will be the responsibility of the homeowner. For specific details such as backup duration, usage and storage conditions, and testing and monitoring instructions for your battery backup check the chart below.