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• Preface

• Alexander Graham Bell

• Telecommunications history

• How the telephone works

• Phone FUN facts

• Why the Phone Works When the Lights GO OUT

• FTTP (Fiber to the Prem)

• Future of Telecommunications

• Crossword Puzzle

• Word Search

• Glossary

• Credits

• Speech by Thomas Watson

Why do the Telephones work when the Power is OUT ! ..... cont

Since occasional commercial power interruptions can occur; emphasis is placed on the ability to restore that service in telephone equipment offices with minimum delay. For that reason backup power equipment is insurance against phone service interruption. This backup power is usually provided from batteries and from gasoline/diesel generators or combinations of the two. Why are batteries needed? They provide a power reserve to maintain continuous telephone service if anything should happen to the commercial power service and “fill the gap” so to speak, providing immediate power as the generators take time to cycle on.

With the recent invention of fuel cells (an electrochemical device that generates electricity from hydrogen and oxygen), the future telephone company power plant may soon be completely redesigned. According to many new reports, we all may soon be using this new fuel cell technology to generate power for our homes, our cars and even our cell phones. The fuel cell could be extremely useful to everyone everywhere because it generates power more efficiently and with less pollution.