Don’t forget Backup Internet
A few weeks ago, Santa Fe County experienced a massive snowstorm that brought internet, and in many cases, PNM power, down for much of our membership.
When internet goes down, there is only so much our volunteers and staff can do to get it back up. It could be down for a full day as we scramble to diagnose the issue, source replacement parts, and install the fix. In some cases like snow storms, the roads to our access points can be inaccessible for days.
All ISPs experience outages, even the biggest companies. But a radio-based system like LCWA uses is somewhat more prone compared to cable internet due to the exposure of radios to the harsh New Mexico environment.
Some members roll with the punches when internet goes down. However, others have built their home businesses and emergency phone communications around internet. Some have physical or mental health needs for internet access.
That’s why we say, if uninterrupted internet is an absolute requirement for you, it’s up to you to provide a source of backup internet at your home, one you can run your business, phones, and life from. All good companies subscribe to multiple sources of internet. It’s just good business sense. As a business person, or someone with critical communication needs, it’s irresponsible not to. If you don’t, the consequences are on you, it’s not your ISPs fault.
So, that’s why we pretty much ignore any messages we get when internet goes down that say “I must have internet for (XYZ), you have to fix this now!” We always work fast to make repairs to internet if it goes down, and messages like that just waste our time.
So, if uninterrupted internet is an absolute requirement for you, put a source of backup internet in place. Occasionally I have someone respond to this recommendation saying “we have no other source in our neighborhood.” But that’s no longer true—all locations in Santa Fe County now have other options. For example, Starlink now has a $50 a month plan; granted, it has significant monthly data limits, but those limits will get you through an outage or two.
Here is a list of backup internet sources to consider.: https://lcwireless.net/whats-your-internet-backup-plan/
