You are correct, it's a legal requirement for fixed line operators to provide access to emergency services numbers during a power failure. For how long is unclear. Also, this legislation dates back from long before there were ubiquitous mobile phones. In addition, many people have fixed phones which don't work without mains power. DECT base stations with battery back-up are in a distinct minority.

Rather interesting VOIP operators are (explicitly) not required to provide this service, so those operators providing purely BB access don't have to provide any emergency service access in a power cut. They also don't have to provide location information for the emergency services.

I decided that a generator was essential to meet the issues that sandcastle has addressed, and to address the 2 or 3 power failures we seem to have every year. I am also trying to future-proof to some extent as I believe that we may well have many more power cuts in the next few years.

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The problem is that diesel or petrol can't be stored for long. I opted for LPG gas, but town/natural gas was an attractive alternative.

Couple that with an automatic transfer switch which switches automatically between the mains supply and the generator set, when there is a power outage. A UPS to cover the few seconds during which the automatic transfer switch operates; and you are covered.

I have the generator & a manual change-over switch, and am intending to install an automatic change over switch shortly.

I may need to buy a gun to keep the neighbours out in the winter !

NJSS

Just to say that the bbu should provide 24 hours power to the ont in the event of a power cut, not 1 hour.

Sorry, no idea, I just fit and maintain the stuff .....

Though at a guess, I'd have thought it cost the same as a normal DEL.

Not according to BT

In reference to bt.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/36953:

The battery back-up unit (BBU) will be provided by the engineer when your Openreach fibre modem is installed. It enables your fibre home phone line to continue working in the event of a mains power cut in your home. This means you will still be able to make and receive calls for up to an hour.

If its FTTP the BBU takes pencil batteries, so just buy loads of rechargeable ones and when they go flat replace them with charged ones.

What are you on about Paul ??

The mains power goes into the BBU, then links to the ONTE ....... Hence it covers when the mains drops.

Your 'scheme' sees the ONTE fully lose power every time you change the batteries DOH ?!?!?!

In reply to a post by Zarjaz:

If its FTTP the BBU takes pencil batteries, so just buy loads of rechargeable ones and when they go flat replace them with charged ones.

What are you on about Paul ??

The mains power goes into the BBU, then links to the ONTE ....... Hence it covers when the mains drops.

Your 'scheme' sees the ONTE fully lose power every time you change the batteries DOH ?!?!?!

The OP was wondering how to keep it running when the power drops and there was mention that the BBU will only last an hour, so they was wondering how to keep it running longer, with FTTP you have no issues re-syncing like you do with FTTC or ADSL, so there would be no issues re-syncing with the new batteries every time the last lot goes flat.

That's what I was getting at.

I apologize if I have confused people.

Paul

Sandcastle

The FVA service is exactly the same price as the copper service, it is still covered by the OFCOM price controls and is treated as the same regardless of delivery mechanism.

The BBU has to be for a minimum of 1 hour by OFCOM requirement although they were talking about removing this due to the ubiquity of mobile coverage, ( we could argue about that).
Talktalk/Sky want to remove it to decrease the price for FTTP,( in some discussion document some time in the last 12 months).

If you are out for weeks at a time you should be making a lot from the utility penalty payments that should subsidise tha cost of the generator you require. ( Or wind turbine)