Understanding Your Battery Backup

Backup Power Customer Notice

Backup Power for Residential Voice Telephone Services during Power Outages: For many years, your  home telephone would allow you to stay connected to emergency voice services during a power outage. However, if your residential voice telephone service is provided using fiber optics instead of a traditional copper based line, the residential voice telephone service requires battery backup power to continue functioning during an outage.  To avoid disruption of home voice service during an outage – and to maintain the ability to connect to 9 1 1 emergency services – Brazos Communications offers battery backup option(s). Note: The battery backup will only support dial tone for a WIRED telephone, and will last for up to approximately 8 or 24 hours (depending on which backup you have). 

What your Battery Can – and Can’t – Do for you: The battery backup offered for telephone equipment allows you to continue to use your home voice services during a power outage. Without a battery backup or alternate backup source such as a generator, customers with fiber will not be able to make any calls, including emergency calls to 9 1 1.  The only way to maintain the ability to use your phone is by using some form of backup power.

Our battery backup does not provide power to any services other than voice.  Home security systems, medical monitoring devices and other equipment will not run on a home phone battery backup.

Expected Backup Power Duration: Batteries are expected to last at least 8 hours on standby power. The battery backup should give you at least 6 hours of talk time. If you feel that is not enough time, you may extend your standby power by purchasing a 24-hour battery or additional 8 hour batteries.

Instructions for Proper Care and Use of Your Battery: Please follow the detailed instructions included with your battery for proper use, storage and care of your battery to ensure that it will function as needed during a power outage. If you do not store your battery correctly, if may shorten its useful life. Environmental factors such as temperature can shorten your battery’s useful life. We recommend that you store your battery above 32°F and below 104°F. These batteries are not rechargeable. They will not last forever and should be replaced every 2 to 3 years, or when your device starts to make a loud beeping sound. That sound means that the battery is depleted, and must be replaced. See the instructions below for purchase and replacement options. You should also periodically, as described in the instructions included with your battery, remove and test your battery to verify both the operation of the battery backup and its condition.

Battery Backup Replacement Options: Brazos Communications Fiber customers have four options to choose from when the battery in the Battery Backup needs to be replaced, and is no longer in warranty. Brazos will honor the warranty for 2 years from the date of the actual fiber activation.

Options for replacement are as follows:

  1. A new 8 hour battery (or replacement battery) may be purchased from Brazos for $42.00 + tax.
  2. A compatible replacement battery may be purchased from a source outside of Brazos. Please refer to the Backup Unit User’s Manual for specs on a compatible replacement battery.
  3. You may choose NOT to replace the battery. Simply silence the alarm on the battery backup unit by pressing the  “Alarm Silence” button. The battery backup will then act as a pass through for the power.
  4. A special adapter cord for the ONT (Optical Network Terminal) may be installed to replace the original cord, and plug directly into a standard A/C outlet. (With this option, the battery backup can be unplugged and removed.)

Note: The battery backup will only support dial tone for a WIRED telephone, and will last for up to approximately 8 hours or 24 hours (depending on which backup you have).  If there is a power outage, cordless telephones will not work unless you have a home generator.  A new 24-hour battery backup option is available for purchase at a cost of $144.00 plus tax. Battery backup does not support data (internet).

Battery Backup Power equipment and service calls are not covered under the Telephone Inside Wire Maintenance Agreement.