Internet Service Provider (ISP) Down?

I read a short blog in about the author's local ISP (Internet Service Provider) being down for a period of time, seems a hurricane caused some damage to the local central office.

Note: In telephone / telegraph / internet terms a 'central office' is where all the "local" customer in coming and out going traffic is sent out to the rest of the world. This is may or may not be the headquarters of the local ISP or telephone company.

This one should come under the heading "Disaster Preparedness" or what to do in an Emergency...

It seems that the better technology gets the old way of doing things seems to be better.

What am I talking about?

Consider this when the hurricane went up the East Coast of the USA in 2011 it did some damage. The damage although wide spread was not as catastrophic as say what happened on the Gulf Coast with Katrina.

What the author of the article was pointing out is that his Internet and Cell phone were the same company and when the Internet Service Provider central office went out so did his cell phone!

That is why if you depend on the Internet for your business you should have an alternate way to connect with a land line, such as a Cable, DSL, or [gasp!] dial up.

Actually a dial up would be your better choice (although slow by today's standards it is useable) because in most areas in this modern world telephone lines are underground and not subject to most natural disasters, the exception would be an earth quake in your area. Most telephone lines today are protected from the elements of water, wind, and fire by being buried in the ground.

Another exception to the telephone lines being buried underground would be in remote areas such as the open plains where it is cheaper to use telephone poles for power and utilities such as telephone, cable TV, and DSL internet.

The 5 Steps to high quality and cheap DIY Computer Repairs Get It Today...

Those of you that say "ah but, I'll just go to an internet cafe' and use their internet". Ok, but what if their Internet Service Provider is the same as yours?

In my opinion the more options you have the easier it is to deal with a disaster even if you are not part of that disaster such as the Internet Service Provider and Cell phone being from the same company as above. (Which in a Disaster Preparedness scenario is like putting all your eggs in one basket, better to have different carriers for each service in my opinion - which I do).

Having choices makes doing business on the internet easier and more reliable.

In a couple of months I will have a third option if my ISP has a problem: Satellite Internet, I will be adding that to our RV (hopefully!) when the interior renovation is complete.

10/27/14 - Unfortunately do to poor economic conditions in the USA the satellite internet did not work out...

That would give me DSL for everyday use, Dial up as a contingency, and Satellite if the Dial up dies also.

Like any disaster plan you have to consider how you are going to survive while doing the clean up and keeping your business going has to be a priority in this [Digital] age of Internet Communication!