UK ISP BT Criticised Over Failure of Broadband Battery Backup During Power Cuts
Broadband provider BT (EE) has been criticised by a resident of the remote Outer Hebrides (Scotland) island of Scalpay after they found that the Battery Backup (BBU) device, which the ISP provided for their internet and Digital Voice (phone) service, failed to work in two out of three recent power cuts. A bit of a problem as the house also gets no mobile signal.
The need for a BBU is relevant because the industry is now in the final process of retiring legacy phone services (PSTN/WLR) by 31st January 2027 (details). But one key advantage of the old method was that copper phone lines could be powered from an exchange, thus BBU’s were not usually required. Sadly this is not possible with most modern internet-based digital phone equivalents (especially if fibre optic FTTP lines are involved as these cannot carry electricity).
Internet and phone providers like BT thus optionally provide a BBU to “vulnerable customers” (usually for free) who have taken their IP-based Digital Voice (phone) services. The BBU is designed to ensure that the customer’s router and optical modem (ONT) still works when there’s a power cut, which means they’re able to make an emergency call using an existing handset. Regular customers can also get one of these, albeit for an additional cost.
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However, in the aforementioned case on Scalpay, Jane Roberts and her husband said (Stornoway Gazette): “There have been three power cuts recently and the broadband has only worked in one of them. It’s leaving no communication for emergency services … BT and their new digital voice system are going to be responsible for possible fatalities in the future when they are predicting everyone will be on it by the end of 2027.”
According to Jane, BT’s BBU system failed during the first power cut, had worked during the second power cut – on Boxing Day – and then failed again on the third, which came just 20 minutes after the second power cut. We assume the system in this case is setup correctly, since it did at least work on one of those occasions, but it’s hard to tell with so little detail and only some very anecdotal feedback from one user.
A BT spokesperson said:
“UK landline providers are switching from analogue to digital services, as the old technology is increasingly unreliable and no longer fit for purpose.
We recognise the concerns raised and encourage any customers experiencing issues to contact us directly so we can review their setup and provide a tailored solution. At BT, keeping customers connected is our top priority and we remain committed to supporting vulnerable customers through the switch.”
Sadly, the article doesn’t provide any solid details to help us examine the circumstances around this case, such as precisely which BBU unit Jane has (BT supply two different solutions), what her setup looks like or how long the power cuts lasted etc. BT’s latest BBU Plus kit (pictured) launched last year alongside other providers (Vodafone, Zen Internet and KCOM) and is designed to last for 4 hours (here), before going into an idle mode that reserves just enough power for an emergency call.
The article suggests that Jane had switched to the new Digital Voice service late last year, and so we assume her home would have been provided with the latest BBU Plus kit. But obviously if any of the power cuts lasted longer than 4 hours then that might become a problem. In addition, if any of those power cuts also impacted BT / Openreach’s wider network, then it wouldn’t matter if the BBU itself was working or not as there’d be no connectivity either way (not even an old legacy phone would have worked in that circumstance).
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Suffice to say that more detail and context is required in order to properly assess what actually caused the system not to work, which is important because many other people will be installing similar systems and expecting it to work.
In the meantime, consumers can of course optionally buy a larger portable power station [affiliate link] online for more money, but we recommend only getting one that uses a LiFePO4 battery, as they last longer and are better at holding a charge. However, if you have deeper pockets and also want to save money on your electricity bills, then a whole-home solution (e.g. GivEnergy, Tesla Powerwall etc.) that charges up at cheaper off-peak rates could be another option, but the latter does tend to cost several thousand pounds.
Otherwise, the move away from the old legacy phone network is a somewhat unavoidable change, due both to the roll-out of full fibre connections and the fact that the legacy phone network is now rapidly reaching “end of life“; it’s already becoming unreliable and sourcing replacement hardware when parts fail is difficult. Suffice to say that the change isn’t going to be reversed, so it’s now much more important to consider having a backup.
Mark is a professional technology writer, IT consultant and computer engineer from Dorset (England), he also founded ISPreview in 1999 and enjoys analysing the latest telecoms and broadband developments. Find me on X (Twitter), Mastodon, Facebook, BlueSky, Threads.net and Linkedin.
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They never would have noticed if the old line was out during power cuts but broadband going down is a lot more conspicuous.It could just be a faulty battery backup that needs replacing but I do think that if it’s infrastructure there’s a limit to the amount of subsidy that can be given to people who choose to live in these ultra remote places – some outages to be expected.
It does pay to manually test your UPSs, etc. every now and then.
I had one that seemed to pass all the tests but when the time came it failed.
Not excusing BT, just giving some basic advice.
I can remember reading about this over on the EE community website and the conclusion seemed it was beyond the control of EE as the issue was more about how the infrastructure of the island was connected to the main land rather than any customer equipment or EE/Openreach’s
We won’t get such a balanced report from the clickbait news outlets. There are too many questions that we don’t know the answer to. For me, if something goes wrong, I look in the mirror first, Too many people believe that everything is someone else’s fault.
Also depends on what kit your ISP has in the local exchange, I’ve posted here before that OFNL don’t have a generator backing their kit in our exchange, only UPS with a short runtime, my home 1500va APC unit lasts longer than theirs….. so for other users a BBU wont make a huge amount of difference for more than short durations.
I guess the obvious major issue with this and old phonelines is that most people have DECT handsets, these power backup banks don’t usually provide power to the dect base station as well as the router and or ONT. I Wasn’t too impressed with the how secure the power connections on this unit where on 2 of these units that I’ve seen. However when connected properly one ones I’ve seen work as advertised powering the router and ONT.
Surely the issue is the amount of power cuts they have, and the strain that puts on their equipment?
If the food in their freezer melts and is now inedible, is that Tesco’s fault? Why are BT being held responsible for the power company’s failings?
According to the article, it failed on the first power cut, so that should have still worked.
The third one may be iffy if the second power cut was long enough that it didn’t have a chance to recharge.
To use your analogy, Freezer manufacturers may say they ‘will keep frozen for x hours’, now if you have a single power cut in winter with reasonable ambient temperature and the food defrosts instantly, you might be putting in a complaint.
I’m repeatedly saying this. Why should telcos brunt the cost of the power companies issues
Low cost BBU devices are less reliable as they react less, and lack line interactive, the cost for a very reliable device is likely prohibitive. What type of failure are we talking about though, one where it doesnt stay on during power cut but can still power on devices manual after, or a complete failure where the battery doesnt work at all? If its the latter, then thats an actual issue.
I believe if someone wants to live in a remote island such as Scalpay, they should be prepared to accept either risk reduced capabilities in possibility of emergency service communications during power outages or purchase in equipment at their expense which in this article looks like they did but didn’t work anyway but should also consider multiple options such as a generator to power their house during an outage or a satellite phone.
iPhones 13 and above comes with SOS satellite texting as standard so the resident may already have this capability this whole time.
Everyone is saying FFTP and VoIP is progress and yes it may well be , however if it does not work without battery back up surely this needs to be robust and as fail safe as possible before copper lines and exchanges are withdrawn . There will never be an occasion where power cuts can be totally prevented and surely the industry needs to pull together to ensure that the equipment they provide customers has the essential back up required especially those who have vulnerabilities or are isolated . 4 hours back up is not enough as how many instances is power off for far longer than this especially in isolated areas. We could be talking about life or death here , or emergency situations that require rapid response surely the industry should be sure the equipment they supply , peoples lifelines , access to get assistance , are fit for purpose
Why is that the problem of the telecoms industry and not the problem of the electricity industry who are responsible for these things not working? Why isn’t the onus on them?
Rather than providing battery backup for every ont and router along with the head end, it would be far more efficient to rely on your mobile phone which has a battery built in, then only the cell site needs battery backup.
This is going to sound awful, but if you live in a situation where the phone is of vital importance, you get a mobile phone as well. If the signal is so very bad there, you need to get together and set up a local radio network for emergency use only, along with the council.
In my experience most people who live in very remote places have backups like HF/VHF radio tuned to a communal channel that everyone shares. The harsh conditions that cause power and fixed comms to break also make those things hard to fix. No BBU is going to function for a week, but an HF transceiver hooked up to a 12V battery probably will.