Why Power Outages Still Break Your Internet
Managed Wi-Fi providers love to pitch a fantasy: “If the power goes out, your residents stay online. Our centrally powered Wi-Fi keeps the internet running, even during outages.” It sounds like a dream—but it’s marketing spin at best, and downright misleading at worst.
Let’s break this claim down with real math, real power consumption, and a dose of reality.
Managed Wi-Fi providers rely on centralized switches with Power over Ethernet (PoE) to drive access points (APs) throughout a multifamily property. In theory, if you put these switches on a UPS (uninterruptible power supply), you can keep all APs and the internet alive during an outage. But in practice, the physics of power draw and battery capacity say otherwise.
The Reality of Power Consumption
Let’s say at a multifamily property, one building is running 40 access points, each consuming an average of 22.5W (a reasonable midrange estimate for APs that draw between 15-30W). That’s 900W of power draw just for the APs.
Now add the switch itself—a 48-port PoE switch providing full power to 40 ports will consume another 80-100W. So now you’re looking at ~1000W of continuous load.
So, how long can a UPS really last with that kind of load?
A typical “1500W” UPS does not have 1500Wh of usable energy. Most mid-sized rackmount UPS units only provide 500–800Wh of battery capacity without external battery packs. Here’s what that means:
- At 1000W draw, an 800Wh UPS gives you less than 45 minutes of runtime.
- A 500Wh UPS gives you about 25 minutes.
- Want an hour or more? You’re now in the realm of $3,000+ UPS systems with large extended battery banks.
Let’s not even mention the heat load, battery wear, and the logistical nightmare of distributing multiple large UPS units across several telecom closets.
The Economics Are Worse Than the Physics
Even if a provider wanted to keep everything up during a power outage, the cost of doing so is ridiculous:
- A 1500VA UPS with a single battery: ~$700, ~20–30 minutes at 1000W
- A 3kVA UPS with external batteries: ~$3,000+, ~1 hour at 1000W
- Multiple data closets? Multiply that cost 2x, 3x, 4x.
Ask yourself this: are they actually installing $10,000+ worth of battery backup in every building? Or are they quietly giving you 15 minutes of runtime and hoping no one notices?
The ONT “Disadvantage” That Isn’t
XGS-PON does require ONTs (optical network terminals) in each unit, and yes, those ONTs need power. But the managed Wi-Fi claim that “you lose internet if the ONT loses power” conveniently ignores the fact that you lose internet no matter what when the APs or switches die from lack of power too.
Whether it’s a PON ONT or a managed Wi-Fi AP, if there’s no power, there’s no internet. One model isn’t inherently more outage-resilient than the other unless you’re spending big money on serious battery infrastructure—and most providers aren’t.
Stop Selling Fantasy. Start Selling Reality.
Providers should be honest. Managed Wi-Fi has benefits: centralized management, roaming, better signal coverage in some cases. But pretending it’s immune to power outages is marketing nonsense.
Power outages kill internet, full stop. Unless your switches, APs, gateways, ONTs, and upstream fiber equipment are all backed by industrial-grade UPS systems or generators, your residents are going offline.
Don’t buy the hype. Ask for the runtime calculations. Ask for the battery specs. Ask what happens after 20 minutes of blackout. Because the answer isn’t pretty.
Reality is Better Than Hype
At Internet Subway, we believe in telling the truth about infrastructure. XGS-PON is resilient, fast, and future-proof. And yes, we offer realistic options for battery backup where it matters most: the resident experience.
We don’t hide behind marketing fluff. We engineer for reality.
