Theatre Telephone Systems Battery Backup

[WxmMike]

Our theatre currently has an old analogue phone system(POTS) with an inbuilt 3hr battery backup.This will be shortly replaced with a VOIP system running on a local server with VOIP desk phones fed (PoE) from managed switches.

Trying to find out if there is a legal / theatre licence requirement to provide battery backup to ensure continuity of service in the event of mains supply failure.

BT no longer provide BBU on their domestic fibre VOIP installations, but are theatres subject to other rules / regulations ?

 

Local authority licence application makes no reference at all to telecomms.

The site is adjacent to a mobile mast covering two of the mobile operators, with excellent signal, so contingency plan could be use of a mobile in case of emergency.

 

Any advice / comment welcome

 

[Jevans]

If there's nothing in your theatre's individual license, then there's no such regulation that I'm aware of. Like all computerised kit it's best if the server and switches are on a UPS to cover short brownouts and blips.

[djw1981]

It may be worth checking if you have any kit which can dial out (fire alarms, burglar alarms etc) and look into how these would work in case of power failure to the VOIP kit. This may affect your insurance etc.

[Jivemaster]

Your data lines will get increasingly used for card payment at box office and bar.

[adam2]

Even if not a specific regulatory requirement, it would in my view be good practice to fit a UPS in order that the telephone system may be used as normal in a power cut.

 

It could perhaps be argued that provision of reliable telephone communication IS a requirement under general health and safety regulation, for all but the smallest and simplest public venues. Consider for example the consequences of crew, cast, or visitors suffering serious injury in some not obvious part of the premises. And yes, consider also fire and intruder alarm systems that need a phone line.

 

The equipment MIGHT have provision for fitting a back up battery. If not, simply connect the mains input to a UPS. In view of the presumably modest loading. a battery back up time of some hours should be achievable at reasonable cost.

 

 

 

 

 

Whilst cellphones can certainly be useful, it is in my view most unwise to count on them as an alternative. If the power failure is part of some wider emergency or out of course event, then the cellphone network may be overloaded as vast numbers try to use it. And remember that the cellphone mast needs electricity, which might fail with yours.

 

 

 

 

Edited February 8, 2020 by adam2

[timsabre]

Don't forget you will need to power the fibre optic terminal unit and the router as well. Not sure how BT do it but we have a separate box where the fibre enters the building which has to be kept powered. Then the router which actually does the internet routing is another box.

[kerry davies]

I am definitely having a senior moment here. Why do you want to use telephones in a premises you should have evacuated following a power failure? Who is using these phones and what on earth for? Is there any point in investing time and money in this?

 

Mobiles have always been adequate for Licensing Officers in my experience.

[adam2]

It may be unrealistic to completely and immediately evacuate the premises in case of a power cut without any other emergency.

 

It might be reasonable for the audience to remain for at least 30 minutes, in case the power comes back on. If someone is taken ill in that time, or if a violent crime occurs, a working telephone is most useful to call the emergency services. After the public have been evacuated, staff should normally check the venue to ensure that no customers remain, if these checks reveal anything amiss, reliable telephone communication is important.

 

Consider also some EXTERNAL emergency such as armed terrorists rampaging, as has happened in France, or in London, in these circumstances sheltering in place might be prudent, or might be ordered by the police. Working telephones again needed.

 

I therefore stand by my earlier remarks that a UPS would be good practice even if not a regulatory requirement.

 

 

 

[paulears]

If this is important to you, include it's requirement in your purchasing plan, unless you're just buying cheap and doing it yourself, in which case maybe the UPS is sensible. If you have a local power outage, then how long before you evacuate? Local outages leave phones functioning. Area power issues mean the public systems are on backup power too - if you are on fibre to the cabinet, BT only have 3-4 hours worth of battery life in them.

 

Somebody makes a judgement call on the time to call it a day and cancel the show and send people home. Without a UPS your phones are dead. Mobiles work for at least a while. Is that not something quite manageable?

[Jivemaster]

When I worked in a venue in central London the revised instructions while I was there included a provision for sheltering inside in case of there being greater danger outside.

During the day of the London Tube bombings the mobile phone network in London was shut down. Ever since the start of mobile phones the emergency services have had the ability to take over the network for their needs, in a big emergency it's not available to individuals.

 

The POTS system was supplied with it's necessary 50v from lead acid batteries at the exchange and they were backed up with generator sets. Lots of copper was at 50v and ensured supply to phones. With fibre, every node needs power including your incomers, you are hoping that their power is as well supported as POTS power was.

[bruce]

Why do you want to use telephones in a premises you should have evacuated following a power failure?

Evacuation may not always be immediately appropriate in a power failure situation, as described above. For many purposes when a building has a simple power cut, the appropriate response is “sit tight for a few minutes”.

 

And even if evac was required, you still need to think about things like lift phones, or communications during an evacuation procedure.

 

Mobiles have always been adequate for Licensing Officers in my experience.

Then you’ve never had to deal with a modern building with coated glass cladding. Architects love them, but the chances of getting mobile phone coverage inside is minimal.

[sandall]

Two further problems with relying on mobiles (apart from all those already mentioned) -

 

1/. You may not know the name or number of the person you need to contact urgently or, if they don't answer, anyone else who would do, whereas a ringing / flashing PBX phone by the SM Desk, the House Manager's position or in the office will hopefully be noticed.

 

2/. Even if key staff have their mobiles on their person, rather than in a bag, during show-time they will be on silent, so may well be missed, particularly if unusual activity is happening.

 

You could attempt to mitigate 1/. by having dedicated mobiles for key roles, but that wouldn't help with 2/. & you merely add the possibility of theft or flat batteries to the mix. E2A: It's also quicker keying 2 or 3 digits than 11.

Edited February 9, 2020 by sandall

[Owain]

I think by 2025 BT are hoping to migrate all services to fibre delivery, and VoIP for telephony.

 

There might be some rural places using a wireless local loop substitute, which will bring its own problems.

 

Theatres will usually have a stage comms system as well - is that on battery backup?

 

And in places like London, with widespread power failure, the tube stops and so do the traffic lights. In disaster planning we are now having to consider situations where it may not be possible to evacuate a venue and people may have to stay overnight because they can't get home (staff at least, even if you chuck the punters out)

 

[sleah]

 

And even if evac was required, you still need to think about things like lift phones,

 

 

In our currently being built new school, I understand we have to have POTS lines to the lifts. I don't think an IP phone is acceptable, probably because there are many points of failure (even if there isn't a power cut).

Is it worth considering retaining a single POTS line in a reasonably accessible location?

[richardash1981]

Re: the BT side, in 2011 OFCOM took the view that providers would have to sort backup of their in-premises equipment. By 2018 they revised this to only having to make provision where there was a reason why mobile phones could not be considered an adequate backup solution because of disability or coverage. https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0018/114219/consultation-access-emergency-power-cut.pdf Other relevant links:

• https://www.ofcom.or...-and-power-cuts
• https://www.ofcom.or...tions-power-cut

OFGEM's thinking is pretty heavily driven by the idea of obligations on "communications providers" - not sure who that would be in this case.

 

Sandall: I think we need to be clear about incoming vs. outgoing calls. Most risk assessments work on the basis that incoming calls are not safety critical, but a limited spectrum of outgoing calls (probably to 3-digit short-codes) are. Normally this is 999 (for blue-light emergency services). I would argue that 105 (electricity power cut!) is also pretty important, and (if you have gas on the premises) the gas emergency number. The latter may be better used from your mobile outside on the street however! If there is a requirement to receive incoming calls in emergency conditions it would need to be flagged and assessed.

 

At work (not theatre-related) we have retained a single BT land line into the reception desk (manned during opening hours) alongside moving all the extensions onto VoIP (from what used to be an on-site PABX). Whether the external line phone can be found in an emergency is an interesting question, but in theory we are covered that way. When the power went out in August, the biggest problem was the key-card door access control system ...

 

And in places like London, with widespread power failure, the tube stops and so do the traffic lights. In disaster planning we are now having to consider situations where it may not be possible to evacuate a venue and people may have to stay overnight because they can't get home (staff at least, even if you chuck the punters out)

 

The Tube actually has a pretty immense redundancy built in (including in-house power generation to run lifts and lighting at underground stations), so would need a very major outage to loose Tube services on a general (as opposed to localised) basis.

Network rail on the other hand ...