Back to the future

Recent power outages and shortages have highlighted the relative unreliability of the electricity grid, and have underscored the modern-day dependency on reliable power to such a degree that there are now calls for mandated performance levels in the supply of electricity. In a less public manner, the outages also serve as a reminder of the purpose (and value) of the telecommunications (telco) powering infrastructure. This paper considers some of the aspects of the nexus between telco powering and the electricity grid and speculates on the impact to the telecommunications powering industry that might result from (greatly) improved reliability of the grid.