The Federal Communications Commission is considering whether to impose backup power requirements on Internet providers that offer phone service, but cable companies and telcos don’t want to be required to keep customers connected through long power outages.

While copper telephone lines can keep working through outages by drawing power from a telco’s central office, the old lines are going out of favor because they can’t provide Internet speeds as fast as cable or fiber. Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone service delivered over the newer networks stops working as soon as the power goes out unless there is a battery backup in the customer's home.

The FCC thus opened a proceeding to determine whether Internet providers that offer voice service should have to offer backup power systems.

“As consumers transition from legacy copper loops to new technologies, it is important they continue to have reasonable CPE [customer premises equipment] backup power alternatives to support minimally essential residential communications, particularly access to emergency communications, during power outages,” the FCC said.

The commission tentatively proposed requiring that service providers “assume responsibility for provisioning backup power that is capable of powering their customers’ CPE during the first eight hours of an outage.” But the FCC said it would consider a 24-hour requirement and noted that Verizon already offers a 24-hour backup device.

Not surprisingly, voice providers don’t want to face any new requirements. They argue that consumers have willingly switched from copper landlines to VoIP service despite carriers being required to inform customers of the power limitations. Customers are also increasingly using cellular service instead of landlines to make voice calls, they note.

“Mandating that providers of VoIP service provide all customers with battery backup capability would impose an unnecessary and wasteful ‘battery tax’ on consumers,” the National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA) argued in a filing last week. “The better approach is for the Commission to work with VoIP providers on identifying network best practices and assisting with consumer education to ensure that all customers have the information they need to determine how best to stay connected when the power goes out.”

Forcing voice providers to supply battery backups “would have limited benefit due to the prevalence of cordless phones, which depend on commercial power,” the NCTA added. Customers can buy standalone Uninterruptable Power Supply (UPS) devices to remain connected during an outage, powering multiple devices instead of just the landline phone, the NCTA said.

AT&T agrees.

“Consumers are well accustomed to self-provisioning CPE backup power, including for voice services that are not line-powered,” AT&T wrote. “Relying on customers to monitor their backup power supplies (with proper instructions from the service provider) is the most sensible approach in light of the technological and marketplace realities.”

Verizon is more willing to accept a backup power requirement than AT&T. Companies such as Comcast, Cablevision, Cox, Time Warner Cable, and Verizon are already offering backup power options, Verizon wrote.

“[I]n light of the multiple options providers already are offering, at most the Commission should, as it suggests, require providers to offer customers the ability to purchase a battery back-up option that will support voice service for eight hours during commercial power outages,” Verizon wrote. “Customers should be free to decline the battery, depending on their personal preference.”

AT&T and Verizon both still offer copper-based voice service but are moving toward all-IP networks and want to leave behind the utility regulation that has applied to telephone service for decades.

The American Cable Association (ACA), which represents smaller Internet providers, also urged the FCC to avoid strict requirements. Requiring an 8-hour battery would be too expensive for small cable companies, the ACA wrote.

“[F]or a smaller operator with 10,000 subscribers, assuming the cost per subscriber of a new E-MTA/E-DVA [Embedded Multimedia Terminal/Embedded Multimedia Terminal] with a battery is $80 and labor for installation is $120, the initial cost would be $200 per unit—or, in aggregate, $2,000,000," the ACA wrote. "The average annual capital budget for a typical operator with 10,000 subscribers is approximately $2,000,000, and so this requirement would double its annual budget. If the operator passed along the entire cost, it would more than double the average monthly subscriber bill.”

Sprint weighed in, urging the FCC to impose requirements only on fixed line providers rather than cellular networks. "Whatever standard the commission adopts should extend only to products intended to replace traditional POTS [plain old telephone service], where customers have come to rely on centralized backup power, and not to femtocells and other devices intended to augment a wireless network," Sprint wrote.

8 hours isn’t enough, consumer advocates say

The FCC is also hearing from advocates who want backup power requirements. The National Association of State 911 Administrators told the commission that eight hours of battery life is not long enough.

“Twenty-four hours would be more useful and account for the fact that consumers in the midst of a power outage due to a natural disaster or other emergency will likely have urgent communication needs that may take time to accomplish,” the group said.

Public Knowledge and other advocacy groups pointed out that storms can take out power lines for days. “The Commission’s proposal for eight or even 24 hours of backup power is not sufficient time to meet Americans’ safety needs,” they wrote. “Public Interest Commenters believe seven days is a reasonable backup time requirement that helps consumers remain safe before and during a natural disaster, and rebuild after the event.”

Although copper landlines stay connected during power outages as long as the phone lines remain functional, they have done so without any uniform nationwide requirement.

"Some states, depending on their level of deregulation, require backup power as part of their COLR [carrier of last resort] requirements," Public Knowledge Senior Staff Attorney Jodie Griffin told Ars.

The state requirements vary. Alaska requires eight hours of power while Iowa requires just two, for example.