FCC Battery Backup Disclosure

Maintaining Telephone Capability During Electrical Outages

Home Telecom telephone service and Home Telecom Digital Voice telephone service provided by an eMTA each require electrical power from your home to operate.  IN THE EVENT OF A POWER FAILURE YOUR TELEPHONE SERVICE WILL NOT WORK, INCLUDING 911 AND ANY HOME SECURITY OR MEDICAL MONITORING THAT RELIES ON YOUR TELEPHONE SERVICE UNLESS YOU HAVE A BATTERY BACKUP.  In the past, Home Telecom often included a backup battery complimentary to customers with telephone.  However, Home Telecom did not represent that such complimentary batteries were, or in the future would be, included with the service.  If your Home Telecom equipment has a backup battery and you subscribe to Home Telecom's SafeGuard service, Home Telecom will provide a replacement for you when necessary.  If your Home Telecom equipment has a backup battery but you do not subscribe to SafeGuard, it is your sole responsibility for monitoring and replacing the backup battery when necessary.  If your Home Telecom equipment currently does not have a backup battery or if your battery needs to be replaced, but if you are not a SafeGuard subscriber you are responsible for making your own decision about whether to supply backup power for your telephone services. 

Cordless telephones require power and will not function during a power outage even if you have a backup battery for your Home Telecom equipment. Home Telecom recommends that in addition to having a backup battery that you also maintain one corded phone connected directly to your in-home wiring for use in the event of a power failure. Additionally, you should always have an alternative means of dialing 911, such as a mobile telephone. If you have a monitored home alarm or monitored medical device that uses Home Telecom telephone or internet service as the communications pathway, your monitored alarm will not function during a power outage without battery backup power for your Home Telecom telephone or internet service, as applicable. It is recommended that you subscribe to an alternative communications pathway such as cellular backup for your monitored alarm or medical device.

Home Telecom shall have no liability for the failure of your services, including 911 services, to function during a power outage, including failure due to the absence or insufficiency of battery backup power.

Performance and Monitoring of Your Battery 

The batteries provided by Home Telecom are rated to last for at least 8 hours in idle mode, when the battery is new. Up to 3 batteries may be purchased to provide 24 hour back-up. Multiple 8-hour batteries must be rotated by the customer to attain longer periods of back-up. The 8 hour SLA (Sealed Lead Acid) battery can generally sit on a shelf at room temperature with no charging for up to a year when at full capacity, but is not recommended. SLA (Sealed Lead Acid) batteries should be charged at least every 6 months to 9 months.

The battery is intended to enable users to make short, emergency or other urgent telephone calls. During an extended power outage, use your telephone service sparingly to preserve your battery life. The actual length of time that your telephone service will be available during a power outage depends on many variables, including, but not limited to: the amount of phone usage when the service is utilizing power from the backup battery; whether the backup battery is properly installed and charged, such as whether it has had an opportunity to fully recharge after a prior outage; the condition and age of the backup battery; and the amount of prior usage of the battery. Batteries lose capacity with age. The estimated life for a new battery is 3-5 years; however, actual results will vary depending on usage patterns, load, frequency of power outages, and environmental conditions, including temperature extremes and fluctuations. Failure to adhere to proper storage and usage conditions will reduce the talk time available to you in an outage and the lifespan of your battery.

To determine if the battery you have needs to be replaced, find the installation type and battery type installed with your equipment below and follow the instructions.

Outdoor ONT

• CyberPower PSU

  There are status lights on the front right of the CyberPower PSU. The Replace Battery status light on the right will be red if the battery needs to be replaced. An audible alarm will also sound, with two beeps every three minutes when the battery needs to be replaced. While running on battery power, if the battery begins to run low, the alarm will beep four times every two minutes. The alarm can be silenced for 24 hours by pushing and holding the blue button on the front of the power supply for three seconds. This unit also has a Missing Battery status light, which will be red if no battery is connected to the power supply.

• APC PowerShield PSU

  There are status lights on the front right of the APC PSU. Refer to the Battery Status light. It will be red if the battery needs to be replaced or if it is missing. Depending on the model you have there may or may not be an audible alarm. Models that have an audible alarm will beep one time every 15 minutes when the battery needs to be replaced. To determine if the battery is missing, open the door and look for a battery.

Indoor ONT

• CyberPower PSU

  There are status lights on the front of the CyberPower PSU. Refer to the Battery Status light. It will be red if the battery needs to be replaced or if it is missing. An audible alarm also will sound once every 15 minutes when the battery needs to be replaced.

Digital Voice eMTA

• Arris eMTA

  There are status lights on the front of the telephone modem (eMTA). Refer to the Battery Status light. The light will be on if the battery is good or low. The light will flash if the battery is bad and needs to be replaced. The light will be off it there is no battery installed.

Available Backup Power Options

Home Telecom offers new batteries for purchase by its telephone customers for $25.00 for an eMTA battery or $50.00 for an Optical Network Terminal (ONT) battery. There may be an additional fee for the installation of the battery. Batteries are rated to last for at least 8 hours in idle mode, when the battery is new. Up to 3 batteries may be purchased to provide 24 hour back-up. Please contact Home Telecom at 800-577-2799 for more information or to order a battery.

Warranty Information

If within the first 12 months after you receive a battery purchased from Home Telecom, you notify Home Telecom that the battery is not working properly, Home Telecom will install a replacement battery at no additional cost to you.