Use Case
Plan what happens when your internet goes down.
Decide what needs to keep working when a connection fails. Build a recovery brief for each location, compare available backup options and agree how the proposed setup will be tested before you rely on it.
Why it matters
What a single-circuit business looks like in an outage.
Payments and customer transactions
Ask your payment provider which transactions can continue offline or through an alternative connection. Record terminal reconnection steps and include a representative transaction in the recovery test.
Calls and customer contact
List desk phones, softphones and forwarding arrangements. Confirm alternative calling paths and local power needs with the provider. Test new and active calls when the connection changes.
Cloud tools and remote access
Identify the systems staff need first, including VPN access and authentication. Agree which work can wait or continue offline, and check that essential sessions reconnect on the backup.
Cameras and building access
Ask the installer what remains available locally during an internet or power outage. Document remote monitoring, recording and access requirements separately rather than assuming every function behaves the same way.
How SwitchU helps
Turn the recovery brief into supplier questions.
Confirm shared failure points
Ask suppliers to explain shared routes, building entry, upstream facilities and power dependencies. Compare the failures each option addresses; another carrier name alone does not prove an independent path.
Agree a recovery test
Have the technical team demonstrate a primary-link failure, a degraded connection and restoration. Record detection and recovery times, application behaviour, alerts and any manual steps.
Compare suitable supplier options
Compare cellular, fixed wireless and secondary wired options against address availability, installation needs and essential application demand. Confirm equipment, capacity and data allowances in the supplier proposal.
Compare the complete cost
Include service, hardware, installation, licences, data overages and support. Compare the total with your own estimate of disruption and existing alternatives, then decide which risks justify investment.
Your recovery brief, in five decisions.
- Which applications must work at each location?
- What interruption can the business tolerate?
- Which shared failures must suppliers investigate?
- Who will run and approve the recovery test?
- Who receives alerts, contacts support and retests after changes?
Common questions
What businesses usually ask.
Get started
Review backup options for your business.
Share your locations, current connections and the work that matters most. A SwitchU advisor can review available supplier options against that brief.
Have those details ready? Start a detailed internet request.
To compare technologies and sourcing options, see the backup internet and failover solution page and our backup internet guide.