How are mobile phone masts powered?
- Thread starter User269
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ColinJ
Puzzle game procrastinator!
- Location
- Todmorden - Yorks/Lancs border
I reckon that they would have backup power supplies.
It's funny that you should ask that because I was just thinking yesterday that my new cordless phones would not work without power. I think that I will keep my old phone for emergencies.
It's funny that you should ask that because I was just thinking yesterday that my new cordless phones would not work without power. I think that I will keep my old phone for emergencies.
cyberknight
As long as I breathe, I attack.
- Location
- Land of confusion
We get frequent power cuts here, and have retained our old phone for such 'emergencies'.
I gather some masts have their own emergency power supply, but not all. But how can they be 'hard wired' into the grid and still work when there's a local power cut? Norm, I wonder if your landline didn't work because of the handset, as opposed to anything else?
I'm interested in this because one of the main arguments here for erecting a mast on a nearby hillside, ruining the view, blasting the sheep with microwaves (saves on cooking later), and overriding planning regulations which apply to an AOONB, is that nobody can use their landlines (yes they can!) when there's a power cut and would be dependent on their mobiles.
Archie_tect
De Skieven Architek... aka Penfold + Horace
- Location
- Northumberland
The police and BT recommend you keep one conventional plugged in handset phone connected in case of power cuts or burglars disabling the power supply.
smokeysmoo
Legendary Member
- Location
- Bolton, not very far from Nob End
Beat me to that
Cordless handsets used to come with the same warning. Maybe it was just on BT ones, maybe none do anymore but I'd thought they would do.
I didn't say hard wired into the grid, I said hard wired into the network, as in the mobile phone operator's network. The "mobile" signal is taken wirelessly into the local cell's masts and then taken through wires across the phone networks.
Nope, if you spotted the bit about me being on cable, you'd understand why. Our home phone is about 50 years old and would not be affected by the loss of power.
GordonB
Guru
- Location
- Somewhere just north of Ipswich
Mobile phone companies invest very heavily in standby power systems, including their own emergency generators. I know this because I've done noise impact assessments for several mobile data centres and mast installations.
Gordon
Gordon
ColinJ
Puzzle game procrastinator!
- Location
- Todmorden - Yorks/Lancs border
My cordless phones will not work in a few powercut and the box they came in warned about that. The actual landline will carry on working because the exchange has its own backup supply. I am going to keep the old phone to use in emergencies.
That warning makes me laugh, much like "warning: contents may be hot" on a McDog coffee cup or "warning: may contain nuts" on a packet of dry roasted.
ColinJ
Puzzle game procrastinator!
- Location
- Todmorden - Yorks/Lancs border
I bought a pack of smoked salmon recently and there was a warning that it might contain fish!
vernon
Harder than Ronnie Pickering
- Location
- Meanwood, Leeds
I found that out when we had a power cut at 04:00 hours yesterday morning which triggered our burglar alarm and woke us up. I only just had enough power left in my mobile phone's battery to be able to ring the fault line.
vernon
Harder than Ronnie Pickering
- Location
- Meanwood, Leeds
Hardrock93
Guru
- Location
- Stirling
The base site power supply units take their power from the mains and are provided with back up batteries which will last a few hours. There would not normally be a back up generator at a mast, unless it was a particularly important site. As Gordon says, 'data centres' and other facilities futher up the hierarchy will have generator back up.
