BACKUP POWER FOR VOICE TELEPHONE SERVICES DURING POWER OUTAGES
Your voice telephone service is provided using state-of-the-art fiber optics, which requires backup battery power to continue functioning in the event of a power outage.
To maintain the ability to connect to 911 emergency services and to avoid a disruption of home voice service during an outage, we provide a battery for the backup power for your home voice telephone service at the time of the initial installation at no additional cost for cooperative members and a $3/ month fee for non-cooperative customers.
This same battery is also provided to business customers, although it generally does not provide enough power to run multiple lines or a business telephone system.
WHAT YOUR BATTERY CAN (AND CAN’T) DO FOR YOU
The backup battery for your telephone service provided by Red River Communications allows you to continue using your home voice services during a power outage. A traditional corded phone is required at this time. Without a backup battery or an alternative backup source, such as a generator, customers with fiber-based telephone service will be unable to make any calls, including emergency calls to 911. The only way to maintain the ability to use your telephone is by using some form of backup power, like the battery we provide.
Our backup battery does not provide power to any services other than voice. Digital TV and Internet services will not function on the backup battery. Home security systems, medical monitoring devices, and other equipment typically will not run on a residential voice telephone backup battery.
REPLACEMENT OPTIONS
Red River Communications provided a backup battery during the initial fiber installation. The backup battery is the property of Red River Communications and may need to be replaced every five to seven years, or when it is no longer functioning. It is not possible for a customer to test the battery.
We will provide and install at no cost to you a replacement backup battery upon appointment when it becomes known that the battery needs to be replaced.
If you have any questions, contact us at 701-553-8309 or [email protected].
EXPECTED BACKUP POWER DURATION
Backup batteries are expected to last up to 8 hours on standby power. The existing backup battery should give you at least 6 hours of talk time. However, other factors may affect the battery, so this is not guaranteed.
If you need additional talk time, you may purchase a 24-hour extended life backup battery for a $6 monthly fee, plus an installation cost of $180.