While VoIP systems tend to be considerably more reliable than a traditional landline, there is still a risk of downtime because the entire phone system connects to the internet. Lose that internet connection, and you lose your business phone service.

Power failures happen when you least expect them and the best way to keep your phone system up and running is to have a plan for when these interruptions happen. These interruptions affect the whole business as it can cause missed customer calls, meetings, and even conference calls.

Having a backup plan is your best defense. In this blog, we cover different measures to help keep your phone system up and running during a VoIP power outage. So, what are your options?

1.      Backup Power Supply

When there’s no power, many devices are unable to operate. Every piece of networking equipment including routers, modems, and switches stop working. That’s why many businesses have a backup power supply for this hardware.

VoIP systems need electricity and the internet to function. A short-term solution during an outage is to connect your phone system to a backup power source like an uninterruptible power supply (UPS). The UPS is a battery backup that powers devices for a finite period until the power is restored.

This solution only works when the internet provider has been unaffected by the power outage. For example, a downed power line would impact thousands of internet subscribers at once.

A typical UPS can only keep a VoIP system online for approximately 6 hours. If the outage lasts longer, there’s more you can do.

2.      Use Mobile Devices

Smartphones are used everywhere nowadays and most employees have a smartphone within reach. Most modern VoIP systems and services can be integrated with mobile devices. This feature will work to your advantage especially when there is a power outage as you can configure your system to route calls to smartphones when the power fails.

If and when your VoIP system fails, it then rolls over to another option. The best part of it rolling over to a mobile device is that customers won’t even know the difference. Incoming calls are automatically rerouted to smartphones and when you use your cellphone to call a customer, your company phone number will appear and not your personal phone number.

This is a great alternative for small businesses, especially when you can’t afford to scale up your existing backup power supply to accommodate phones.

3.      Route Calls to an Alternative Site

If your business has two or more locations and both use VoIP phones, you can route calls to another site. This solution is a great alternative for businesses that have all departments spread across different locations.

Since VoIP phones don’t really need any wiring, you can take them with you to any location. When there is an outage, employees can bring their phone home with them and continue to answer calls and work as normal. As long as you have internet access, the phones will work.

Regardless of whether you are a small business or running a large-scale call centre, a VoIP power outage is a big deal.

At Aatel, we provide complete solutions for your business telephone needs. Contact us today to discover how we can work with you to design a customized VoIP telephone system that will meet your unique needs.