Originally Posted By: RNewcomb

Cell phone towers typically are built very well, and have sufficient battery/generator backup to keep them running for up to 48 hours after losing main line power. As long as the fiber connection to the shack remains intact (and that conduit is designed to flex quite a bit), cell phone service will be there.


"Typically" is a key word. In the case of my home, the cell tower is wired into the local phone company's "shack" that controls the switching for our neighborhood.

So, when that "shack" has no power, both the POTS (land line) and the cell tower goes out. When the power comes back, they both come back. And no 48 hour battery back up---maybe 1 or 2 hours.

Generator? Yeah, during the last extended outage, a guy from the phone company showed up in a pick-up, off loaded a portable generator, hooked it up into the "shack" and we were back up operating, until the generator (about 12 hours) ran out of gas.

Eventually, he would come by and refill the gas tank of the generator.
_________________________
"Better is the enemy of good enough."