Continuity Planning
When disaster strikes — flood, fire, extended grid failure — your recovery plan determines how fast you get back online. Find resilient internet and power options at your address.
Disaster recovery (DR) for internet and power goes beyond simple backup connections. It is a formal, tested plan for restoring communications and power after a catastrophic event — a major storm, flood, fire, or extended grid failure — that renders your primary systems unusable for hours, days, or longer.
For mission-critical facilities — hospitals, data centers, manufacturing plants, emergency dispatch centers — disaster recovery has life-safety and regulatory dimensions that go far beyond standard IT planning. The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA 110) requires life-critical facilities to restore emergency power within 10 seconds of an outage and maintain enough fuel on-site to run continuously for 96 hours. These are not guidelines — they are legal requirements enforced through accreditation, inspection, and state licensing.
Industrial-grade DR power systems use diesel generators (renowned for reliability, rapid startup, and high power output), natural gas generators (connected to utility pipelines, eliminating fuel storage), bi-fuel units (combining diesel reliability with gas flexibility), and increasingly Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) to provide instantaneous bridge power while generators start. Top manufacturers for mission-critical applications include Caterpillar, Cummins, mtu by Rolls-Royce, and Generac Industrial.
A complete DR plan covers both power and connectivity: redundant generator systems with automatic transfer switches (ATS), diverse internet paths using fiber + cellular + satellite across different providers and physical routes, offsite data backup, documented activation procedures, tested failover, and clearly defined roles for each phase of a disaster response.
Regulatory and operational standards that define DR power requirements for specific industries.
Backup internet handles brief, routine outages — typically minutes to a few hours. Disaster recovery addresses catastrophic, extended failures where primary infrastructure is destroyed or inaccessible for days. DR includes industrial generator power, satellite internet, failover sites, alternative work locations, and data recovery procedures — not just a second internet connection.
NFPA 110 requires emergency power supply systems (EPSS) in life-critical facilities to restore power to life-support equipment within 10 seconds of an outage. Facilities must maintain enough on-site fuel to operate continuously for 96 hours. Generators must undergo weekly inspections and monthly load tests to remain compliant. This code classifies generators by class, type, and level — Level 1 systems protect life-critical equipment.
Diesel generators are the most common — highly reliable, fast-starting, and capable of high power output. Natural gas generators connect to utility pipelines (eliminating fuel storage) but may lose supply during certain disasters. Bi-fuel generators combine diesel reliability with gas flexibility. Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) provide instantaneous bridge power in the seconds before generators come online. Top manufacturers: Caterpillar, Cummins, mtu (Rolls-Royce), Generac Industrial.
Starlink LEO satellite is the most resilient — it does not depend on local ground infrastructure. 4G/5G LTE works if towers remain operational and powered. Fixed wireless point-to-point links provide a private path that is immune to ISP-level outages. A complete DR internet plan uses all three tiers across different providers.
N+1 means one extra generator beyond what is needed — if any single unit fails, capacity is preserved. 2N means full double redundancy: two complete independent power systems, either of which can carry the full load alone. 2N is required for Tier IV data centers and is the standard for hospital Level 1 emergency power systems.
Start by identifying critical systems and your Recovery Time Objective (RTO) — how long you can be down. Then design backward: what generator runtime covers your RTO? What internet paths provide geographic diversity? Assess your existing UPS capacity, generator fuel supply, and ISP contract terms. Consult NFPA 110 if you are in a life-critical industry. Test the plan at least annually.