Will my phone work in a power outage?

Due to ongoing changes in technology, it is important to know the potential impact of a power outage on your telephone service.  Depending on the type of phone service you have, you may or may not have service in the event of a commercial power failure.  You should contact your service provider as soon as possible for information about the ability of your service to work during a power outage. 

It is IMPORTANT to be aware of the following:

Traditional Telephone Service: during a power outage, your telephone service will still be operational.  However, if you have telephone equipment that requires you to plug it into an electrical outlet in order to make and/or receive calls such as a cordless phone, it may not work during a power outage.  This may limit your ability to make phone calls from your home during such an event.

Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP): if you have VoIP service, depending on whether you have a back-up battery, you may not have phone service when there is a loss of power.  As the provision of a back-up battery varies from service provider to service provider, it is important that you contact your provider to determine how your service may be affected.

Cable phone services: most cable phone service providers supply customers with back-up batteries that last up to 8 hours during a commercial power failure.  Those that provide batteries often monitor the battery’s life and alert users when and how to replace the existing battery.  Since practices differ between providers, it is important that you ask your provider if your phone service would be interrupted when an outage occurs and what your responsibility is to assure you have functional backup power.

Fiber-to-the-Premises (FTTP): if you have phone service over a FTTP connection, your phone service will not be functional during a power outage unless you have a back-up battery in your home.  Again, it is important that you contact your provider to determine how your service may be affected and what your responsibility is to assure your service is operational in a power outage.