| Pages in topic: [1 2] > | Poll: Do you have a backup system/provider in case your internet goes down? Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "Do you have a backup system/provider in case your internet goes down?".
View the poll results »
| | | | | No, and I don't think there is a need for it | Jun 5, 2020 |
My Internet connection is very stable, I haven’t had a single problem for the last 5 years and even then it never failed more than 5/10 minutes. Otherwise, it takes just a phone call to my provider to have it back again. Fingers crossed!
| | | | Marjolein Snippe 
Netherlands
Local time: 14:22
Member (2012)
English to Dutch
+ ...
My backup provider is a local café. I have only needed their internet (as opposed to their coffee) once in the past 5 years though.
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Mobile WiFi hotspot/4G. And hopefully, the library will accommodate for remote working soon again, too (now they're only open for borrowing books, which is a great thing in itself ).
A nice anecdote: on my very first working day after leaving my day job, internet went down and I didn't have a mobile phone back then. I was stressing out because I had to meet a deadline at noon. My neighbours' internet connection was fin... See more Mobile WiFi hotspot/4G. And hopefully, the library will accommodate for remote working soon again, too (now they're only open for borrowing books, which is a great thing in itself).
A nice anecdote: on my very first working day after leaving my day job, internet went down and I didn't have a mobile phone back then. I was stressing out because I had to meet a deadline at noon. My neighbours' internet connection was fine and they shared their WiFi login details ▲ Collapse
| | | | | No, and I don't need it | Jun 5, 2020 |
I have been conscious lately of how lucky I am in many ways, and a reliable Internet is one of them.
I did once offer to drive to a client's office with my translation on a memory stick, as the Internet was down and the deadline was urgent, but the client said wait, and the Internet came back again within a couple of hours. That client was only an hour away - I would not consider driving any further!
| | | | Becca Resnik
United States
Local time: 08:22
Member
German to English
+ ...
No backup service provider, as we have fiber optic from an extremely reliable ISP.
I do have the router on a battery UPS, though.
| | | | Detelina Mileva
Bulgaria
Local time: 15:22
Member (2013)
English to Hebrew
+ ...
| Portable WiFi router | Jun 5, 2020 |
I carry my portable WiFi router everywhere I go with my laptop, so if I need to work outside my home or office I don't rely on public network.
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I use 4G mobile phone and its tethering only for Internet connection, and a paid Wi-Fi service router from another carrier on top of it.
[Edited at 2020-06-05 11:40 GMT]
[Edited at 2020-06-05 11:42 GMT]
| | | | Jessica Noyes
United States
Local time: 08:22
Member
Spanish to English
+ ...
I live in a tiny village in a tiny US state, where the wifi can go off for hours at a time. When big storms are predicted, I make sure that I am well ahead of time on any job I take. If I have no connection, my first step is to drive to the local library and sit in their parking lot to get on line. If the local library is also down, then I drive half an hour to my daughter's house. She lives in the tiny (population 9000) capital of our state, and always has an excellent connection.
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I do have a data plan on my mobile phone, but I don't really need it at home - in the 14 years with my provider, I haven't experienced any serious outages. However, I've been careful in choosing the provider and setting up my connection, and this is what I can recommend:
- The best possible option is getting an Ethernet connection at your place (that is, an Internet-only wall jack to which you can connect your computer directly, without a router); in most cases, it implies a fiber-o... See more I do have a data plan on my mobile phone, but I don't really need it at home - in the 14 years with my provider, I haven't experienced any serious outages. However, I've been careful in choosing the provider and setting up my connection, and this is what I can recommend:
- The best possible option is getting an Ethernet connection at your place (that is, an Internet-only wall jack to which you can connect your computer directly, without a router); in most cases, it implies a fiber-optic cable from the provider's office to some point near you (the basement of an apartment building, a street cabinet serving several homes, etc.). An important advantage of this type of connection is that you may be able to circumvent some of the problems by changing the settings in your PC or router. For example, if your IP address is fixed but you are getting it automatically via DHCP, you may set it up manually and circumvent a DHCP outage; if your computer cannot resolve domain names because the provider's DNS server is down, you can switch to an alternative public DNS server and be happy, etc.
- A mobile phone data plan, if it's affordable in your country, is usually highly reliable, but more difficult to diagnose and fix if something happens.
- A Wi-Fi connection to provider's access point somewhere in your neighbourhood is usually OK but your mileage may vary. I'd say the most likely cause of problems will be an access point overload when too many clients are connected. Some circumvention techniques may work, too.
- ADSL/SDSL (Internet via phone line) requires a separate modem. It's a bit more trouble-prone than Ethernet. Fixing an outage will usually require a lineman to come out, but the phone network will normally have some spare cable capacity just for this kind of situation. Your mileage may vary.
- DOCSIS (Internet via TV cable) is the most troublesome. Most outages in the networks of this type are due to problems in long cables and can take days if not weeks to fix even in first-world countries. A separate modem is required, too. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Lincoln Hui
Hong Kong
Local time: 21:22
Member
Chinese to English
+ ...
I've had to do it from time to time because we had a wonky modem at home. Finally I got fed up and had it replaced, and since then I have not needed to go to the phone (we now have 2 ISPs at home, too - one from our phone service and one from cable).
On a tangent, I remember the Great Undersea Cable Outage of 2006, which happened at the same time as I was applying to college. That was fun.
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I usually connect with my phone using Mobile hotspot/4G.
| | | | Aline Amorim
Brazil
Local time: 10:22
English to Portuguese
+ ...
| No, and I don't think there is a need for it | Jun 6, 2020 |
But I am already providin as I passed torque with Windows' update.
| | | | Mario Freitas
Brazil
Local time: 10:22
Member (2014)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
If my internet goes down, I can use the mobile connection of my phone and route the PC to it, since it's a differente provider. Only for emergencies, because the connection is pretty bad that way.
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