landline with old-fashioned connection to central office

[RichardNelson]

We are Fibe customers, and happy enough with it.

I'd like to get a landline with an old-fashioned (4-wire-type) connection back to the central office. Is this possible?

Thanks! Richard

[WelshTerrier · Accepted solution]

Unfortunately, this is not possible. Fiber is being installed in lieu of copper communications infrastructure. Copper is in the process of being replaced throughout Canada.

You can still connect to the telephone phone network with Bell Fibe Home phone. It would be on fiber. Most of the features that were available with copper are also available, enhanced & offer superior quality on fiber.

E.g. Bell Home phone Lite or Bell Home phone Choice.

[RichardNelson]

Thanks. I suspected that was the answer. We're looking for what in institutional contexts is called a power-fail phone. I.e. a phone that will still work when mains power is unavailable. I do have a UPS on my modem, and our internet connection survives the short power outages we've had. Would a Fibe phone, if it's on the UPS or had its own power supply, still work (i.e. be able to make/receive calls)?

[WelshTerrier · Accepted solution]

If your Bell home services use a fibre optic network, your Home phone service, including 9-1-1 emergency services, will not work during a power outage without a battery backup. To maintain phone service during a power outage, you need to purchase a battery backup, also known as an uninterrupted power supply (UPS).To maximize the efficiency of your battery backup, we recommend only connecting your Bell modem to it.

If you are using a portable wireless phone; (such as Panasonic or Vtech); in order to use them, they would require power, at least to the base unit in a power outage.

A traditional corded phone does not require power. It just needs to be plugged in to a jack or directly in to the back of the modem. The modem must have power!

A simple answer to your question is yes. Just as long either one of the options I mention above are used.

A battery backup provides electricity when your regular power source fails. When the electricity goes out, your modem will continue to be powered if it’s plugged into the battery, allowing you to stay connected to the Internet. You can purchase a battery backup from various retailers who sell electronics and related devices, such as The Source, Staples, Amazon or Best Buy.

If the whole network should go down, for whatever reason whether it is on copper or fibre, then it will make no difference. E.g. 911 outage, fire, explosion, catastrophe, etc.

Here is a link that should answer all of your questions:

Stay connected during a power outage

Stay connected during a power outage (bell.ca)

[Frank_YYZ]

None of these replies actually answer the burning question that I have.  I have a UPS and a whole house 22 kW generator to supply backup power for my Bell modem.  So I'm sure that my modem will stay alive, barring a calamity that also disrupts natural gas supplies.

The Bell copper line infrastructure was long famous for being able to function during lengthy power failures.  (Diesel backup generators at each CO, no repeaters that required power on the poles, etc.)

The question I have is low long will the new Bell fiber infrastructure function in the event of a long power failure?  I searched a fair bit and haven't been able to find any sort of figure on this.

It might be a wide range of times depending on where one is located.  Does anyone have any information on this?

[dks]

And interesting question. Your specific question can probably only be answered by Bell and for security reasons they probably are going to be public about it.

The reason copper was so resilient was that it was intended to survive major disasters, including nuclear wars. Even then, the system was still limited. You may remember the ice storm of 1998 which took down a lot of utilities for days, weeks and even months. I recall utilities, including Bell, of having to move generators around and to provide fueling trucks to keep generators running to power systems.

If communication continuity is a concern, consider having a conversation with your local EMS to seek their advice about options. The federal government has resources available, as well.  Get Prepared: Home  

[copper wire needed]

What this doesn't tell you is the battery back up is ONLY good for up to 8 hours and at your cost must be replaced annually.  Our power was out for 4 days May 2022 and  this "solution" , usellss for 911.  Copper Wire landline is the only reliable solution. 

[dks]

The Giga Hub modem, which replaces the HH3000 with a battery backup, does not have a battery. Replacement batteries for the HH3000 are no longer available from Bell. With copper landlines being decommissioned as fibre is built out, the only option is to have a fully charged cell phone available. 

[Frank_YYZ]

So, it's been a little over a year that I've had Bell Fibe replace my copper connection. (I was forced to do it since they decommissioned my copper land line.)  I have a UPS plus a backup generator so the Bell modem always has a nice clean source of power.

In the 15 years I had copper, I NEVER had an outage.  In the last year, I've had four outages on Fibe.  They were fairly short (typically 5 to 10 minutes).   My alarm system sends a message via the Internet whenever it encounters a landline monitoring failure.  I have Rogers Internet, so I guess I was lucky that it didn't fail at the same time as the Bell Fibe network went down.)

So, it's a definite step down in reliability.   And, this was while there were NOT any major power disruptions in Toronto.

Rogers is not great in reliability either.  I'm deliberately paying two suppliers for the option of being able to call Rogers on my Bell landline when my Rogers Internet goes gown. (The Rogers cell service I have while I'm inside my house is so bad that it's almost useless, so I can't use it to complain when their Internet goes down.  And, by the way, Bell Bell cell service in my area is equally bad.)

I live in Scarborough, with a view of the lake.  And, while I'm in my house, I frequently get roaming messages from Rogers.  So, it seems that a US cell signal from 44 miles across Lake Ontario is stronger than any local Rogers cell signal.  (It was actually quite funny funny that this happened a few years ago when they were filming a Rogers commercial at my house.  Suddenly, all the crews' cell phones beeped out a "Welcome to the US" roaming message!  They weren't amused.)  At least Rogers has figured out that the frequent complaints and loss of goodwill were more expensive that the revenue they gained from these false roaming fees.  They have implemented programming that figures out that popping up in the States for 5 minutes and then returning to Canada is probably not a legitimate roaming event, so they don't charge customers for this anymore.  I don't know if Bell cell service is as smart about this.  

Sorry about the lengthy rant.  The duopoly rules.