Maintaining Service in a Power Outage

Will I have phone service if the power goes out?

Yes, but only if the fiber line has not been damaged and you provide power to the network devices that are installed in your home and to your telephone if you have a base telephone with remote handsets.

Will I have internet service if the power goes out?

Yes, but only if the fiber line has not been damaged and you provide power to the network devices that are installed in your home and to your computer or TV or other devices that you use on the internet.

How do I provide power to these devices when the power goes out?

An Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS), also called a battery backup can provide from 1 to 24 hours of backup power depending on how much you want to spend.
Do an internet search for “uninterruptable power supply ranking” to help you determine the battery backup that will be right for you.
To keep your internet working the TV or computer will need power as will the Optical Network Terminal (ONT) and Router. The ONT is the small box mounted on an inside wall where the fiber line enters the house. The Router is the black box we supply with SMART/RG written on it, or one that your replace it with.
To keep your phone working, in addition to the Optical Network Terminal (ONT, ie the box mounted on the wall that’s plugged into your house power) and Router, the base phone for your remote handsets and the Ooma Telo base, must all be plugged into a battery backup.
To keep these devices powered longer than the life of your battery backup you will need to have a generator connected to your house wiring. Some generators need to be manually started, while other can be configured to start up automatically when the outside power is lost. Even the automatic ones take a couple of minutes to kick in, so you may also wish to have a UPS battery backup to keep power to the devices while the generator starts up.

I have a medical alert device or alarm system that dials in to a control center, what should I do if I have VoIP telephone service?

You should at minimum have a battery backup for your phone and/or medical alert device, for the Ooma Telo base, the WiFi Router, and the Optical Network Terminal (the box mounted on the wall that’s plugged into your house power).
To keep these devices powered longer than the life of your battery backup you will need to have a generator connected to your house wiring.
You should contact your service provider and let them know that you are converting to VoIP telephone service. They may need to change the equipment you are using to be compatible.