Cellular Network Backup and Failover Takes Center Stage (.PDF Download)

Before 3G and now 4G networks became a trusted source for failover and network backup, organizations relied on DSL, ISDN, or even T1 lines as secondary communication sources. Today, cellular networks are replacing these wired alternatives as they are extremely reliable and more than fast enough for the clear majority of use cases, from retail to critical infrastructure. The fifth generation of cellular technology promises to dramatically increase these capabilities, effectively making wireless communications the “go to” technology for an even greater variety of failover, private network, and backup applications.

Network outage is a billion-dollar problem, and annoyance for some but an absolute disaster for others whose business relies on the ability to have reliable, high-speed connection to the Internet. And today, this applies to almost every business, academic institution, government agency, and many others as well.

Estimates of network downtime costs range from an average of 324 hours a year to five times that or more depending on the source. Some companies, including supermarkets and retailers, report that at least one store will have downtime once a week, which multiplied by the number of brick-and-mortar stores in a large company, results in an uncomfortably large number. Cellular rather than wired backup solutions are increasingly becoming the way organizations keep their operations online and secure when the main network fails.

When the first early adopters began using cellular modems and routers as a secondary source of Internet access, there were few options available in the marketplace and perhaps surprisingly little interest among wireless carriers to create a category of service for this purpose. They essentially treated every wireless connection-- whether residential or commercial--as the same, with data caps and other impediments.

However, it didn’t take long before carriers got the message, and today AT&T and Verizon have dedicated services providing business solutions dedicated to redundant data management and disaster recovery. They also offer private networks dedicated to enterprise services rather than traditional cellular customers.