In a world where evolving technology and electronics lie at the very heart of communications, every company should have a Hurricane Preparedness for Business Plan that includes provisions for your most basic operational needs. This FAQ provided by Home Telecom, is designed to help you find the answers to questions concerning how best to protect your business communications during a natural disaster, so that you can be up and running as quickly as possible; and in many cases, never lose communications at all.
Hurricane Preparedness for Business: Essential Tips
How Do I Forward My Primary Business Phone Line?
Standard Phone Line
-
If you have a standard phone line often, often referred to as a B-1 line, you can forward your primary phone line by taking the following steps:
- 1st Step: You have to have the call forwarding feature on your primary number. If you do not have that feature, you can call Home Telecom Business Department at 888-746-4482 and enter option 2 Monday thru Friday from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm. The monthly cost for this feature is $3.00.
- 2nd Step: From your primary phone line, press *72 and enter the 10 digit phone number you want your primary number to forward to.
- 3rd Step: In order to deactivate call forwarding, press *73 on your primary phone line set.
VoIP Phone Line
-
If you have a VoIP phone (Voice over the internet) line, you can forward your primary phone line by taking the following steps:
- 1st Step: Go to your VoIP web portal via messagehomesc.com. You will need to enter your main phone number and then enter your password in order to gain access to this web portal.
- 2nd Step: Click on Call Manager tab.
- 3rd Step: Click on the Summary tab.
- 4th Step: Enter the 10 digit phone number that you want your primary phone number forwarded to.
- 5th Step: Click the Apply button.
- 6th Step: In order to deactivate call forwarding, you will need to go back into the web portal and click on Call Manager tab and then summary tab. Click the radio button to ring my phone and then click apply.
What if There’s a Major Storm?
Will my telephone lines work in the event of a major storm?
- If your lines are on copper, they should work. If your telephone set needs power, however, you will not have telephone service.
- If your lines are on fiber, you should have an 8-hour battery back-up to allow phone service for that time period. Again, if you are not using a phone set that requires power.
Will my internet work in the event of a major storm?
- If you have power, your internet should work. However, due to the nature of storms, Home Telecom could experience outages due to cut lines. Home Telecom will make every effort to ensure our network stays up and running.
- If you do not have power, your internet will not work.
- If you have secondary power such as a generator, your internet may or may not work. This is mainly due to the voltage fluctuation from the load that is placed on the generator.
- Once power is restored, you might have to reset your router or modem.