Keeping your internet on during load-shedding

Load-shedding has been far less frequent since 2024, but power cuts still happen in South Africa, from Eskom stages to local outages and cable theft. Keeping your internet up is mostly about powering two small boxes.

What needs power

Fibre: the ONT (the fibre box on the wall) and your Wi‑Fi router. Both usually run on 12 V DC at around 6–15 W each.
LTE/5G: just the router, which is often 12 V as well.
Any mesh nodes or switches you rely on.

Options

Mini DC UPS (“router UPS”): Plugs between the adapter and router; DC outputs (12 V, sometimes 9 V and 5 V). Cheap and efficient. Get one with enough outputs (or a splitter cable) for the ONT and router, and check each device’s voltage and plug size.
Traditional AC UPS: Works, but wastes power converting DC→AC→DC, so it runs for less time on the same battery.
Inverter / home battery: Covers everything if you already have one.

Rough runtime: a 10,000 mAh (≈37 Wh at 3.7 V) mini UPS running a 15 W fibre setup lasts very roughly 2 hours after losses. Add up the wattage on your devices’ adapter labels to size yours.

What you can’t control

Fibre and cellular networks have their own equipment with backup batteries. During long or back-to-back outages those batteries can run flat, and then your internet drops even with a UPS at home. If your fibre keeps dropping after an hour or two of a long outage, that’s usually the network, not your setup. LTE towers have the same problem, and your phone may fall back to a more distant tower with slower speeds.

After the power comes back

Run a speed test. Networks are often congested when everyone reconnects.
If your public IP has changed and you host anything, check it on the homepage.

Compare networks in our South African ISP guides.

Frequently asked questions

What do I need to keep fibre on during load-shedding?

Power for the fibre ONT and the Wi-Fi router. A mini DC UPS with 12 V outputs for both is the usual solution.

Why does my fibre still go down with a UPS?

Network equipment in the street or exchange has its own batteries, which can run flat during long or repeated outages.

How long will a router UPS last?

It depends on battery size and how much power your devices use. A typical small unit runs a fibre ONT and router for roughly 2 to 4 hours.