Free guide

The Island Connectivity Checklist.

Everything I tell islanders before storm season: how to keep your internet and power alive when the weather turns, what actually works for rural signal, and what to do when the lights go out. Written from ten years of climbing the towers your signal comes from.

Before storm season — do this in September

October on the coast means wind, and wind means outages. Every year I watch the same scramble. Do these once and you're ahead of 90% of the island:

Put your modem and router on a UPS. The number one cause of "internet's down" during a flicker isn't the provider — it's your gear rebooting. A small uninterruptible power supply rides through the blips that take everyone else offline for ten minutes.
Test your generator before you need it. Fuel goes stale, batteries die, pull cords snap — always in the dark, always in the rain. Run it for twenty minutes in September. If it won't start then, it won't start in November.
Size battery backup for winter, not summer. A Starlink dish sips power until the heater kicks in during snow — then it drinks. Whatever backup you buy, assume the worst month, not the best.
Surge-protect everything that matters. Island power is dirty power. One good surge protector on your networking gear and your expensive electronics is the cheapest insurance you'll ever buy.
Charge your satellite communicator. When cell and internet both die, a ZOLEO or equivalent is your lifeline. Charge it before storm season and check the plan is active — a dead subscription is the same as no device.
Keep a portable power bank charged for phones. Simple, boring, and the thing everyone forgets until they're at 4%.

Signal tips that actually matter

A booster amplifies — it doesn't create. This is the one sentence that matters. If there's a whisper of signal outside, an ISED-certified booster installed right can make it usable indoors. Zero signal in every direction? No booster on earth fixes that — that's a Starlink conversation.
Height beats power. Antenna placement matters more than the booster model. Six feet higher on the mast routinely beats a more expensive unit mounted low. I've seen it a hundred times.
Only buy ISED-certified (RSS-131) boosters in Canada. Uncertified units can interfere with the carriers' networks — that's not a suggestion, it's the law here.
Starlink needs sky, and coastal trees are the enemy. The dish wants a clear view overhead. Big firs and cedars around an island lot are the most common reason an install underperforms. Run the obstruction checker in the app before you mount anything — moving the dish ten feet can be the difference between great and garbage.
Mount for the wind. Strait weather will find a weak mount. Engineer it for the worst gust your property sees, not the average day.

When the power goes out — order of operations

Don't panic-spend your battery. The TV can wait. Decide what actually matters: heat, communications, fridge.
Keep the dish and router on backup power if you have it — staying connected means you know what's happening.
Phone on low power mode the moment the outage starts, not at 12%.
Fire up the generator only when the batteries say so — running it for a two-hour flicker wastes fuel you'll want in February.
Check on your neighbours. Island rule. The elderly couple down the road doesn't have a checklist.

My favourite survey outcome is "you're fine — save your money." No sale, no install, just a guy telling you the truth for $89. Those people send me their neighbours. If you want me to check your property before storm season, that's what the $89 signal survey is for.

When power dies, what dies with it

People plan for the fridge and the heat. They forget the security layer — because it's invisible until it's gone. The moment your power dies, here's what goes with it:

Your cameras — no recording, no live view, no evidence if something happens in the dark.
Your gate and smart locks — gate openers and electronic locks are grid-fed. Know how yours fails: locked shut, or hanging open?
Your alarm panel — most have a small backup battery measured in hours, not days.
Your ability to call for help — if the phone's dead and the tower's struggling, you're on your own until it isn't.

The fix isn't complicated: put your security gear on the same backup circuits as your comms. Router, cameras, gate, alarm panel — the whole "stay safe and reachable" stack, kept alive together. One honest note: I don't install cameras or alarm systems (licensed trade in BC, and it's parked). But the gear you already own shouldn't go blind the moment the grid blinks — and that's a power and connectivity job, which is exactly what I do.

Questions I get asked constantly

Do I need a generator or a battery backup?

For most island homes, a battery backup covers the short outages — it keeps your modem, router and a few essentials running silently, no fuel, no fumes. A generator earns its keep for multi-day outages, especially if you heat with electricity. Many of my clients end up with both: battery for the overnight flickers, generator for the big ones.

Will a cell booster work at my cabin?

Only if there is already some signal to amplify — a booster cannot create signal where none exists. If your phone shows even one bar outside, or flickers between nothing and something, a properly installed ISED-certified booster can turn that into usable indoor coverage. If there is truly zero signal in every direction, Starlink is the honest answer.

How do I keep Starlink running in a power outage?

The dish and router sip power compared to most appliances — a modest battery backup or UPS will carry them through short outages. The thing people forget is the dish heater: in snow it draws more, so size your backup with winter in mind, not summer.