New Industry Products

APC Offers Protection for Cable Telephony with the APC PowerShield

July 27, 1999 by Jeff Shepard

American Power Conversion Corp. (APC, West Kingston, RI) introduced the new APC PowerShield power supply with battery backup, which is designed to provide power protection for cable telephony and fixed wireless communications applications. The PowerShield provides 8-10 hours of battery back-up runtime for communication services during a power outage, and also serves as the primary powering supply for telephone communication ports. Offering batteries with either a five-year or ten-year average life span, the PowerShield also notifies the end user or cable multiple system operator (MSO) of battery status, including notification if the battery is in use, signifying an outage; is running low; needs replacing; or is missing or is not properly connected. According to APC, this remote battery monitoring is essential for the end user to remain up and running during any power disturbance, particularly for emergency calls."The recent convergence in the cable and telecommunications industries offer consumers the convenience of obtaining cable and digital television, high-speed data to the Internet and local and long distance telephone services from one carrier through the same architecture," stated Jim Hamann, general manager of Communications Power Solutions. "Uninterrupted availability of this suite of communications services requires reliable power which APC's PowerShield provides."