Our Home’s Reliance on the Internet: Is the Convenience Worth It and How Do We Protect Ourselves?

As many Canadians are well aware, an overwhelming number of businesses and homes with one of the two largest semi-monopoly communications providers faced a network outage, affecting internet and data access all day on July 8th. However, the impact was wider than just home or business usage of the Internet. Concerts were cancelled, debit payment systems were down, and some people were not able to access 911 emergency services.?

CBC reports that 11 million subscribers were directly affected by this outage; that shows an overwhelming number of people went without their network services. Some customers in Etobicoke still have no internet service as of today. After 6 a.m., Rogers’ internet traffic decreased to almost 0%. But even if it didn’t hit you directly, it is possible that you went without your morning coffee if you didn’t have a credit card on hand. (Cash? How many are carrying cash post pandemic?)

When relying entirely on the internet for things, situations like this need to be considered. Thirty years ago, this would not have been a problem. Now, almost everything we do at least somewhat relies on a network connection. For example, as noted above businesses have been switching over to entirely cashless payments, leaving some people wondering how this will work during future outages where cash could be their only option (if they can get it). People rely on their phones to get into their cars. Tesla owners will be familiar with this feature. (Although after viewing the panic attack of an owner that had a dead phone battery and no charger, I’m sure they have developed a work around.) Similarly, Smart Home systems rely on network services. What happens in cases of network outages?

Rogers offers a Smart Home Monitoring service, available through an app. You can get notified that your kids got home from school, get notified that a leak has been detected, get notified when an alarm goes off, can control devices in your home such as locks, surveillance cameras, sensors, lights, thermostat and more. If an alarm goes off and an intruder is detected, Smart Home Monitoring assesses the situation and calls for help when needed. If, and I guess, when, a network outage occurs, you should cross your fingers no one breaks into your house. When Smart Home users lose this convenience that has now become a standard practice in their life, they will likely feel more isolated and vulnerable. From Rogers’ website, it appears that their Smart Home service is available only to homes with a subscription to their Ignite Internet and the Ignite Wi-fi modem. Therefore, if your Wi-fi is down, your Smart Home is also down. Of course, this means you will be unable to check your alarms and get notifications when they are activated, control devices in your home, view videos of the inside and outside of your home, or access any of the other services offered by Rogers’ Smart Home Monitoring system.

One thing that may have surprised people through this adventure is the lack of a Plan B, even for significant companies managing critical infrastructure. (It will be interesting to hear who calls first. Does Interac call Bell, or has the Bell Sales Rep already book a meeting for Monday morning.) What is sobering about this is to know that as you move away from the larger players with deep pockets, the redundancies and backup systems can become even less robust. That said, it is not a given. Some of the smaller providers are nimble and more creative in developing cost-effective solutions. The key is to shop around and ask direct questions. What backups do you have? What happens if? Are there manual work arounds???

What can help? CBC interviewed the University of Ottawa’s Tyler Chamberlain, who said it is nearly impossible to create a system that “never fails,” considering costs. It is also mentioned that these issues can partially be remedied if people do not rely on one network for everything. He mentions that if your network is all-in-one, you will be left stranded if it gives out on you. This applies to homes and businesses; if Interac, Wi-fi, data, television, and more all rely on one network, you have nothing in an outage. This of course can be difficult in a case when companies require a subscription to their Wi-fi services in order to access Smart Home. The repeated solution is to diversify telecommunications. The University of Toronto’s Daniel Tsai told The Star is that all the power existing within a small number of networks is problematic, as it maximizes customer loss.

Today, two days after the outage, the general public is still largerly unaware what has caused the outage. Hardware failure, software, human error, a bad upgrade, bad luck? We don’t know for sure. Or we are not being told. As the world gets more complex (if that is possible), the sources of these outages will multiple. Malicious hacking is widespread. Hacking for profit is a new business line for some. With supply chain shortages and inflation will companies try to get “a little more” out of their equipment and increase the chance of a mechanical failure? We hope not, but don’t know. They may not have a choice. No one wants a failure, but when managing risks sometimes you’re wrong. While we can’t say this applies to Rogers, skating too close to the line can have very negative consequences.

Bottom line, do your homework when selecting any Smart Home services. Our friends at RIFO can help you with that, including advice, planning and solutions implementation.?

And if the networks fail again? Without access to your Tik Tok account, grab a book and relax knowing that your Smart Home has a backup. Hey, that doesn’t sound so bad. Maybe we should start with having a day off the grid, every week.