4 Ways to Plan for Disruptive Weather Events

Weather events such as Hurricane Irene and Hurricane Sandy, a year later, have shown the vulnerability of New Jersey businesses to protracted power loss and downed communications links. It is good business to prepare for similar harsh storms in the coming years. These are areas that you may want to consider.

1. Move your Telephone System into the Cloud
   With a Hosted PBX Solution, you can adjust recorded messages and call forwarding from any remote location that has a web browser - even a smart phone.  Also, a small portable generator can be used to power your power-over-ether-lan switches and router and provide phone service to your business during a power outage.
2. Provide Diversity to your Communications Transport
   When winds, water, fire, or a traffic accident damages communications lines, it is often the case that an alternate transport method, such as cable, may still be up.  The assumption of independence is pretty good unless the power utility is widely down in your area.  Then this assumption may become invalid after a day or two, which leads to the next item.
3. Consider Fiber Internet Service
   Larger businesses with mission critical communications needs may want to consider Fiber Internet service.  Since the fiber optical links in Fiber Ethernet Service do not go to electronics in intermediate "controlled environmental vaults" but actually terminate in Verizon Central Offices you do not have a problem of the link going down during protracted power outages owning to battery failures in the outside plant. Our Central Office and all Verizon Central Offices have DC battery plants and long running generators that are designed to handle protracted utility power failure.  Copper T1s that go directly to the Verizon Central Office do not have a power problem either, but ones that are further from the Central Office do. Even fiber T1s are subject to the problem of long term loss of utility power in the outside plant.   As far as we can tell, from experience, virtually all cable facilities have this problem of needing utility power outside of your premises to continue to function during a protracted utility power outage.
4. Plan for a remote work location
   With a remote work location your calls can be forwarded and work can continue.