Are you prepared for a world with no internet service? Virtually everything we rely on is connected to the internet, which isn’t as stable and secure as you might think. When the internet goes down, whether due to a massive outage, cyberattack, or natural disaster, life can come to a standstill. From communication to financial transactions, entertainment, and even critical infrastructure and emergency response, our dependency on the internet is profound. Here’s how you can prepare for an internet outage to ensure you’re not left in the dark.
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It was in August, 2024, that cellphone service around the country was disconnected once again, along with internet service.
This outage was widespread from coast to coast. Airplanes were grounded, Wall Street shut down, retail stores and banks had to close their doors and lock up, and calls to 911 went unanswered.
I checked my Facebook social media feed and read dozens of comments like these:
“Husband retail work is shut down. Also couldn’t order a Marcos pizza last night because their systems were down, too, nationwide.”
“I wasn’t able to get checked in at the doctor’s office this morning”
“My son is flying home today, been delayed 4 hours now. And strangely, I can’t log into online banking!”
There’s no denying that our civilization is held together by the internet. Everything, from banking to education, communication to entertainment and our supply chain relies on the internet and its trillions of connection points. When we talk about “infrastructure”, the internet IS the infrastructure. It holds everything else together.
You’ve probably noticed how frequently the security your own bank account and retail businesses are compromised, so it makes sense that the internet is just as vulnerable to criminal, malicious entities. It’s only a matter of time before the next widespread internet outage occurs, whether by sabotage of infrastructure, a cyberattack, or a disgruntled employee somewhere decides he or she has had enough and they push the “DO NOT PUSH” button.”
Not even supposedly secure federal agencies are immune.
What an Internet Outage Affects
An internet outage is similar to a car accident. You know what to do if it should ever happen, but when it does, the impact is so sudden and disruptive that it takes a while to comprehend the event, its impact, and then react and respond.
You know the feeling when an important website goes down. Now imagine that every website you turn to has only an Error message or a cryptic message, likely from hackers.
This type of outage affects:
- Communication
- Energy
- Education
- Financial transactions
- Remote work
- Information access
- Transportation
- Supply chain
- Emergency services
- Medical services, pharmacies
- Smart devices
- Home security systems
It’s dismaying to see how dependent we are on the internet and all its trillions of connections. Yet, when you break it down and see the distinct areas that can be affected, you see how possible it is to be prepared — at least as much as anyone can be prepared for such a big impact.
How to Prepare
In each area, there are numerous ways you can prepare. With America’s volatile political climate and a world leaning more and more towards an all-encompassing war, I believe this is something you need to prepare for immediately.
Communications
Create a family communications plan and have at least one way to communicate when cellphones are down. Multiple, charged power banks will make the difference between being able to communicate with whoever/whatever is still online. So far, most internet outages have affected specific cities, businesses, or government entities, so even though an outage is widespread, you may still be able to communicate.
Try sending text messages if phone calls aren’t getting through, and have at least one cellphone in your household capable of acting as an internet hotspot. This gives you one more way to connect with the internet, if other paths have been compromised.
Financial transactions
Have enough cash on hand for things like:
- Fuel
- Food
- Hiring someone to help you with something
- Home repairs
- Medical emergencies
You may be thinking, “Fiat currency is going to burn, Lisa. It’s better to have precious metals.” Yeah, possibly and we aren’t there yet. This week, add to your at-home cash stockpile.
Trade/barter
Trade or barter with friends, family, and neighbors for anything you might urgently need. Read this post for a few pros and cons of bartering to be better prepared. An internet outage may likely affect the supply chain, meaning you can expect shortages of anything and everything from toilet paper to over-the-counter medications and dog food. If the internet outage extends for more than just a few days, trading and bartering for what you need might be one solution for your most immediate and important needs.
Education
If the kids can’t go to school or online classes are canceled, have plenty of books and printed resources to quickly cobble together a temporary homeschool schedule. These videos from Survival Mom will give you simple advice to begin homeschooling to, at least, keep the kids occupied and provide some structure to your days.
Information
I think the lack of access to information, breaking news in particular, will be traumatic for many people. An AM/FM radio or a NOAA weather radio should be able to connect you with radio stations outside the affected areas, and using digital and/or physical antennas for your TV can pick up over-the-air broadcasts. (You’d be surprised by how helpful an inexpensive TV antenna can be!)
Your cellphone should be able to receive SMS alerts. In fact, you probably already get these whether you want to or not — Amber Alerts, weather warnings, etc. These don’t rely on the internet and simply work over cellular networks. You can expect to get them during an internet outage.
Any other vital information, download it now and/or have hard copies on hand. Set up an external hard drive with plenty of memory, and begin transferring your vital documents and other important information to that drive. You’ll be able to retrieve it, even in an internet outage.
Transportation
Have physical maps so you aren’t completely dependent on GPS. Extra gasoline (stored safely) will provide fuel if gas stations are down due to no gasoline deliveries or ATM machines not functioning. A few days after Beryl, we got in line to buy gasoline to power up a neighbor’s generator. It took an hour, and they only took cash.
Working from home
In the power outage days following Hurricane Beryl, one of the most frequent calls for help were, “Does anyone have an internet connection? I need to work from home!”
Preparing for an internet outage if you work from home isn’t impossible. Depending on many factors, you might still be able to connect using your phone as a hotspot. Ask around for public hotspots and even the homes and businesses of friends and acquaintances. After Beryl in my town, many people who had internet connection right away opened their homes to others for this specific purpose.
Think what you can get done offline and have relevant files and other data downloaded and ready for those tasks. A lot of projects can be done without an internet connection, such as writing reports, finally getting files organized, and getting some planning done, too. Many different office applications, like Microsoft Office and Google Docs, have offline modes, so you can continue working until your internet connection is restored.
Energy
If you can focus on just one priority, then an energy backup is it. Hurricane Beryl left millions without power in July, 2024, and my own experience made me realize this might be the most important prep of all. We were fortunate that our internet was only disrupted for a couple of days, but others, depending on their internet company, were disconnected for several days.
Our power grid is aging and under enormous stress from the increasing electrification of everything and the unprecedented demand from AI. Any backup sources of energy– a generator, power bank, solar generator — anything at all is no longer optional, in my opinion. If another internet and/or power outage takes down your energy source, you MUST be prepared with one or more backups.
Modern power grids are called “smart grids” and rely heavily on the internet for real-time monitoring and control. Without the internet, power surges and overloads would likely not be detected, resulting in blackouts. It’s impossible to know exactly how an internet outage would affect our power generation and transmission system because it’s so complex, but the fact that it relies so much on the internet for operations and communications is enough for concern.
All of these plans and strategies are simple, low-cost, and certainly not extreme. Even just a few measures, or “preps”, will bring peace of mind if or when another internet outage occurs.
Over the next few days, start noticing your own usage and reliance on the internet. That will help you focus on the most vulnerable areas so you can begin thinking — what if I couldn’t do this on the internet? How would I/we cope? How can I prepare for that possibility?
Do’s and Don’ts
- DO have copies of important documents downloaded to your computer and/or hard copies.
- DO talk with your family members about the possibility of cellphone service being down and how you might communicate. Using SMS messaging (non-internet based but needs cell service) might be a solution. Read this for Android apps and this for iPhone. (I’m not sure if iPhones have an SMS option.)
- DO keep a copper wired landline if you have one. The FCC is phasing these out, so consider yourself fortunate if your home has one as there are very few left.
- DO have basic preps on hand in case of supply chain issues — extra food, extra meds (over-the-counter and prescription), etc.
- DO focus on adapting to this temporary situation.
- DON’T do any panic-buying! Just consider how an internet outage might affect you and put a few preps in place on a regular basis.
- DON’T underestimate the impact of this type of event. Expect confusion, panic, and fear. If it feels like your lifeline has been cut off, that’s because it has.
- DON’T jump to conclusions about the cause. The big CrowdStrike outage had people claiming there was a connection between it and the New Madrid fault line and some claimed “the elites” are preparing to go to their underground caves.
This isn’t the same as an EMP
A long-term internet outage would be catastrophic in many ways — no doubt about it. However, unlike the possible effects of an EMP, our power grid itself, meaning the poles, the transformers, etc. wouldn’t be damaged.
Essential services like electricity, water supply, emergency response, and most medical services will be impacted by limited communications and other issues. It’s possible that your home appliances, landline (wired) phone systems, traditional radio and TV, and many businesses would still function. If a business can handle cash transactions, they might be able to continue operations throughout the disruption.
Again, so far these outages have been targeted toward specific industries, like banking and airlines, or toward government agencies. That doesn’t mean your day-to-day life wouldn’t be impacted — it’s impossible to know.
So, all is not lost just because the internet goes down. Perhaps the biggest adjustment will be psychological — suddenly being disconnected from pretty much everything, including breaking news.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you can get in touch with friends or family outside the affected areas, they can keep you up to date, especially if there are critical events happening, such as a terrorist attack. You could also try connecting to the internet using different services. Just because Verizon, for example, is down doesn’t mean every other internet/cellphone service is. Shortwave radios are a lot less useful than they used to be pre-internet, but in a major crisis when information about current events is scarce, you could always check the shortwave radio band.
Internet companies are required by law to have robust backup systems, including actual generators to keep their equipment running. A power outage might also affect the internet, but the two aren’t necessarily affected in the same way.
Yes, if the outage only affects your local WiFi or broadband. Most cellphones will just switch to cellular data so you can continue making calls and sending text messages. If the internet infrastructure itself is affected, you might be able to make calls and send SMS text messages, but messaging apps and social media won’t work. Finally, if both internet and cellular networks are down, you might be able to use your phone for basic calls and SMS.
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Final Thoughts
It’s inevitable that our internet and communications systems will fail from time to time for whatever reason. It’s a significant vulnerability. That’s the reality.
What is also a reality is your ability to learn from these recent outages and take commonsense steps to be prepared when there is no internet service.
What are your thoughts about this?
