Feature: Preparing for disaster

While the phone network and internet access infrastructure held up reasonably well in the Christchurch quake, the mains grid didn’t.

An estimated 70 percent of Christchurch lost power and as a consequence people couldn’t use their landlines.That’s despite Telecom New Zealand exchanges and roadside cabinets continuing to run on diesel generators with battery backups, providing power to landlines. 

Due to the mains grid being disrupted, the only telephones that worked were old-fashioned analogue ones.

Wireless handsets failed unless running via a UPS, ditto digital switchboards requiring mains power. As offices in Christchurch CBD were unsafe or inaccessible, being able to work from home became important to ensure business continuity.

This was only possible in areas with power outages if analogue handsets were available. Business VoIP specialist M5 Networks says that phone systems are seldom included in disaster recovery plans, unlike data and email. When disaster strikes, small and medium-sized businesses are especially caught out and essentially disappear until communications access is restored.

This can take days or even weeks, however, and the downtime could further worsen the chance of survival for the business.In the event a disaster strikes, M5 Networks offers a disaster recovery plan via systems integrators for small to medium businesses.

During the recent flooding in Brisbane, M5 Networks says their system was put to test. Staff at an insurance claims management company couldn’t get to their office in Brisbane CBD and the organisation’s disaster recovery plan for its phones was activated.

Staffers were able to work remotely for a week, receiving calls from customers.

M5 Networks Australia managing director Matthew Wilson says its VoIP system provides location independence, meaning customers could pick up a handset from the office and plug it into the home DSL connection and continue to work.

Even without a handset, Wilson says voicemail services can be accessed via a mobile phone using DTMF tones.  

“These days disaster recovery plans for phones are not really just ‘nice to have’ any more, but ‘must have’ as recent events have shown,” Wilson says.

Next page: A test of resilience