Telecom towers and their power
I assume cell phone towers have generators, and battery backup for when the generators run out of gas. Does anybody know if there is a standard on how long they have to be able to provide power for...
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The FCC required 8 hours of backup power, generator with 8 hours of fuel, 8 hours worth of battery power or a combination of the two that can provide the required 8 hours.
That was in 2007, and in 2008 the OMB shot that ruling down. The net result is that most cell towers have some provision for backup power, it may only be for a couple of hours and an 8 hour backup would be the exception rather than the rule. To my knowledge, there is no federally mandated backup requirement at this time. Cell towers located on commercial buildings that have their own generators would fair much better...power for as long as the building's generators can run, if they have an agreement with the building owner to piggyback on that supply.
Despite what most people would think, cell service is actually just as problematic as a land line during a disaster and possibly more so since the loss of a single tower affects a larger area than even a bunch of wires being out and most landlines originate at telecom main buildings which have their own generator installations to keep their sensitive equipment safe. The main reason we keep a landline at the sticks and bricks.
That was in 2007, and in 2008 the OMB shot that ruling down. The net result is that most cell towers have some provision for backup power, it may only be for a couple of hours and an 8 hour backup would be the exception rather than the rule. To my knowledge, there is no federally mandated backup requirement at this time. Cell towers located on commercial buildings that have their own generators would fair much better...power for as long as the building's generators can run, if they have an agreement with the building owner to piggyback on that supply.
Despite what most people would think, cell service is actually just as problematic as a land line during a disaster and possibly more so since the loss of a single tower affects a larger area than even a bunch of wires being out and most landlines originate at telecom main buildings which have their own generator installations to keep their sensitive equipment safe. The main reason we keep a landline at the sticks and bricks.
