power to the internet

[mike at mtcc.com (Michael Thomas)]

On 12/26/19 11:18 AM, Stephen Satchell wrote:
> On 12/26/19 10:55 AM, Michael Thomas wrote:
>> Here in California, you're going to need a lot more than 8 hours. We 
>> had one that lasted 3 days, followed by about 8 hours of power, 
>> followed by 2 days of no power. If this is the new normal, and I'm 
>> afraid that it is, that's probably going to require some pretty hefty 
>> backup. Not to mention expensive.
>>
>> The one "good" thing that PG&E did is expose all of these 
>> vulnerabilities. Every neighborhood probably knows whether their 
>> carrier is naughty or nice now.
>
> Here in Nevada, specifically at Lake Tahoe, power is less reliable 
> because of heavy snow and sliding trucks (the power equivalent to a 
> backhoe disconnect).  One of the cell sites is on the top level of a 
> casino parking garage.  I found out about this when the casino went 
> bankrupt, the parking garage was blocked off, and I joined the 
> security guard crew to protect the on-site gaming equipment.  Months 
> into the project, the cell company in question begged the bankruptcy 
> court for access -- to replace the empty propane cylinders in their 
> shack.  That's right, no mains tap at all.  When the casino lost power 
> because of bill non-payment, the cell site stayed up.
>
> A network operator will need to look at the total cost, including 
> labor, of backing up mains power. versus using local genertion 
> exclusively -- or using mains power as the backup!  Factor in any 
> upcoming fines for service outage, re 911.  (Try to avoid piped 
> natural gas as the fuel for onsite generation.)
>
> Longer term, review your backhauls and interconnects.  Dark fiber 
> would be preferred here, because you would be controlling backup power 
> at both ends, and not depending on intermediate nodes.


One of the interesting things I found out is that POTS termination out 
in the field can be powered by some of the pairs back to the CO they are 
making redundant. It's enough power that running the DSLAM isn't a 
problem either. I'm not sure that that could translate for anything 
else, but there is probably a lot of copper sitting idle these days.

Mike