Orange is finally answering its subscribers’ questions about the risk of power cuts this winter. The incumbent operator explains that it will be necessary to expect disruptions on mobile networks and the Internet. We summarize everything for you.
“The energy crisis we are going through forces […] RTE and Enedis to consider targeted power cuts, in order to avoid the risk of widespread power cuts throughout the country. In the areas affected by power outages, several impacts on our networks can be envisaged”. It is with a very solemn tone that Orange addressed its subscribers, this Friday, December 9, while the country’s energy situation for the coming winter is becoming clearer.
It must be said that the question worries the greatest number. There is now no longer any doubt that mobile networks and the Internet will be impacted by the energy shortage, while network managers no longer hide the fact that more or less untimely power cuts are to be expected in the coming months. Orange has therefore decided to play the transparency card by clearly explaining how its own network will react in the event of a power cut.
Orange admits that cuts are to be expected on its telephone network
The operator therefore begins by recalling that all its antennas are equipped with emergency batteries which will take over in the event of a power cut. However, these batteries do not have an eternal autonomy and will eventually fail themselves if the cut lasts more than 20 minutes. In other words, “after this time and throughout the time of the cut, phoning, sending SMS or using any application requiring an Internet connection will be impossible”, points out Orange.
Once the current is available again, between 80% and 85% of the antennas will automatically restart. For the rest, Orange explains that a technician will have to intervene for the network to be effective again, which, for the areas concerned, will therefore necessarily take more time. The operator does not specify what these areas will be. Finally, if your household still has a fixed telephone, the latter will also be useless during the downtime. “Unless you have a landline phone in your house with a stand-alone battery base (very rare) or an old phone plugged into a ‘T’ socket only”specifies Orange.
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Orange subscribers will also be deprived of the Internet during power cuts
As for the Internet network, there are no real surprises on this side. Indeed, the boxes being connected to the mains, it is not really surprising that these will not be functional during the time of the cut, whether in WiFi or wired. The same is therefore true for VoWiFi calls on your smartphone. As for remote assistance or remote monitoring services, these ” will be unavailable for the duration of the load shedding, since they depend on your connectivity (fixed or mobile)”.
Orange specifies, however, that some companies are equipped with Livebox Pro with a backup battery. These have an autonomy oscillating between 2 to 12 hours. However, it will be necessary to rely on an independent generator to continue to run the other services, in particular telephone services. Finally, the operator announces the forthcoming launch of a site to assess the impact of power cuts in its geographical area, ” but also the actions to adopt to consume less. »
We remind you that RTE and Enedis will warn households 3 days in advance of power cuts in their area. Then, one day before the deadline, around 5 p.m., they will confirm that the cut will indeed take place.
