PREPARING FOR NATURAL DISASTER, READY?

Disaster Safe Planning Guide [Download Now]

It's good to be ready - we want to share some general advice on preparation and action to take in case of a natural disaster.

We know how important it is to keep the business running and stay in touch with colleagues, friends, relatives, and loved ones during times of strife and uncertainty, and want to do everything we can to help - being prepared is extremely important. Please take a look at this page on ndmo.gov.fj for helpful information on getting your household ready for severe weather conditions.

We've got a few tips around the products and services we provide and keeping customer premises equipment (CPE) safe, secure and operational.

Lost power? Extend your phone battery life

In the case of an emergency with no grid/mains power, more extreme measures may be required.

Turn off all features that are non-essential, like Bluetooth and Wi-Fi.
Lower your screen brightness and enable power saving mode if your phone supports it.
Turn off mobile data if not needed. This prevents social media apps routinely checking in (and using power).
Avoid turning your phone off and on frequently, because that can use more power - if you don't need your phone for a few hours, consider using Airplane mode.
If your phone supports it, switching to 2G-only can conserve battery life.

Network congested? Text, don't call

In an unprecedent scenario/emergency, we recommend texting instead of calling wherever possible, and turning your smartphone's data connection off if not needed. During emergencies, there is heavy demand on resources and some cell sites may get congested or operate on backup battery power (in case of grid failure). Please consider the communication needs of others in addition to your own.

Mobile Device and Computers

Surge protectors are a great idea to protect sensitive home electronics like computers and broadband modems in the event of lightning strikes or major power surges.

For your emergency kit

Many mobile phones have built-in FM radios - these usually require a wired headset to function (It acts as the radio antenna). As FM radio can be extremely useful for urgent emergency communications, you may wish to keep a spare headset packed in with other emergency supplies.
Consider picking up an external battery pack with a USB charging port on it - these can hold their charge for a long time and can be very helpful - especially if friends or relatives have phones running on an empty tank.

IPVPN/DI/WAN Link Equipment

Below is the checklist to ensure CPEs are safe during the disaster and your business is connected quickly after the emergency:

Item Number	Checklist	Yes/No
1	Ensure Outdoor Antenna mounting pole has been secured to respective surface and cable from antenna is not dangling about. If unsecure, please secure or call Vodafone NOC to assist.
2	Inspect openings in the building from where cable from outdoor antenna leads to indoor PoE has no room for water to seep through.
3	Indoor PoE is stored in a dry area and connected to a surge protector on the power outlet.

Below are the equipment details:

Equipment	Description
Indoor PoE	There are 2 cables coming out of the PoE adapter The port that is labelled "OUT" connects to the cable leading to outdoor antenna. The "IN" port is connected to the cable leading to router or switch.
Outdoor Antenna	Ensure the two nuts behind the antenna are fastened securely. The shown mounting pole is seen to be fasten using 4 screws. The cable is tied to the mounting pole with the use of cable ties.

Satellite Internet Equipment

Below is the checklist to ensure CPEs are safe during the disaster and your business is connected quickly after the emergency:

Contact Us

Your enquiries are important to us, and as such, our NOC and Contact Centre staff are trained to provide 24/7 support and information on our services and how we can help. They can be reached on 123/124 for Prepay and 125 for Postpay.

For any urgent escalation or assistance on our WAN & Dedicated Internet (DI) links or ICT products you can contact our 24/7 NOC on;

Short-Code – 285 (from any Vodafone number) or
Landline – 8926405/3214182 or
Email NOC Support Engineers - noc.fiji@vodafone.com.fj or
Mobile – 8929000 (ICT Solution Executives) or Contact your Account Manager.

Stay Safe, Stay Connected