New Industry Products

APC Announces New PowerShield Battery Backup Unit

January 30, 2001 by Jeff Shepard

American Power Conversion (APC, West Kingston, RI) has announced an expansion to its dc power systems offering with a 12Vdc battery backup unit for fiber to the home, wireless local loop and voice-over-digital subscriber line telephony equipment. APC's PowerShield offers a local powering solution to the integrated access device units for residential and small business applications.

The new PowerShield is designed to ensure that home network communications remain running during power disturbances and outages, according to APC. With a 24W output, the PowerShield provides battery-backup runtime for up to eight telephone lines. In addition to providing battery back-up runtime for communications services during a power outage, PowerShield also serves as the primary powering supply for telephone communication ports. The device, which offers batteries with up to a four-to-six-year average life span, also notifies the end user or service provider of battery status.

"Consumers and small business operators using the bundled communication services depend on having power for vital links to primary communications such as 911 and the Internet," said Ed Bednarcik, general manager of APC's Business Networks Group. "APC is pleased to have the ability to offer power protection solutions that provide reliable battery backup and local power for a comprehensive range of telecommunications applications from high-end bandwidth business applications to in-home integrated access devices."

PowerShield will be available in North America in first quarter 2001 and worldwide in second quarter 2001.