What to know about backup internet in Scottsdale
Old Town garage construction runs through summer 2027
The 6th Avenue Parking Structure in northeast Old Town, the Entertainment District quadrant, began in late September 2026 and runs to summer 2027. Phase 1 includes extending electrical, water and communication utilities onto the site. Phase 3, December 2026 to February 2027, needs street closures for a crane to lift precast panels.
More digging at Brown Avenue and Thomas Road
The Brown Avenue parking structure expansion started in July 2026, with new stalls opening spring 2027 and work finishing summer 2027. On Thomas Road, new water and sewer lines are going under the road, with water work at Scottsdale Road and 68th Street running October 19, 2026 to Thanksgiving and again April to June 2027. The city will then reconstruct the road, doing utilities first to avoid cutting new pavement.
Digging is regulated, and mistakes still happen
Arizona 811 says to contact it at least two full working days before digging, and, under Arizona law, operators must mark their lines within two working days of a request. Digging may not start before marking is complete. The system exists because buried lines get hit, and when a line is hit your connection goes down until the carrier repairs it.
Source: Arizona 811
Monsoon storms and outages
SRP says monsoon storms can affect its electric system and a company's operations, and runs a 24-hour business outage line at (602) 236-8888. The monsoon runs June 15 to September 30, with storms peaking from mid-July to mid-August. Power loss takes down the router and the modem even when the carrier line is fine.
Source: SRP, business outage preparation
How failover works
A failover router has two or more internet connections plugged in. It runs on the main one and watches it. When that line stops passing traffic, the router moves your network to the backup within seconds, then moves back when the main line returns. Staff touch nothing.
Without the router, a backup connection is just a second modem somebody has to plug in.
Starlink, 5G or a second wired carrier
The right backup depends on your building and on what is most likely to knock the main line out.
Cox Business sells business internet in Scottsdale, including static IP addresses for backup services, and CenturyLink (Lumen) lists fiber by address. A second wired carrier works when it reaches your building on a different path than the first.
- 5G cellular is the quickest to install. A cellular router goes near a window or on the roof, and it works where signal is strong.
- Starlink uses a dish with a clear view of the sky, so we check roof space, obstructions and the cable path. It is independent of buried lines.
- A second wired carrier gives the highest speeds, but ask whether it shares a trench or pole with the first.
What the backup should cover
Backup links are usually slower than the main one, so rank what matters. Registers and card terminals come first, phones second, then cameras and staff computers. Guest WiFi and streaming can wait. We set rules on the failover router so the essentials get the bandwidth.
Things people forget
Failover handles traffic going out. Anything that connects in, such as remote camera viewing, a VPN or a server, depends on a fixed address. A backup line has a different address, so those services may need extra setup or a static IP.
Power is the other gap. A battery backup on the modem, router and switch keeps the failover working through a short outage.
Backup for Old Town businesses
If your block is under construction, put the backup on a different path from the main line. Starlink and 5G both qualify, since neither uses the buried cable. Ask your carrier when work near you is planned, and set up the backup before the work starts.
What it keeps running
Backup internet keeps business phone systems, security cameras and business WiFi working through an outage. The Scottsdale page lists the rest. To start, call (602) 769-7992 and we will look at where your line enters the building and where a dish or antenna could go.
