Why some datáphones worked without a network and others not

The blackout that He plunged Spain yesterday in the dark He is leaving several learnings along the way. One is that The radio It has proven to be the ideal means of communication in times of crisis. Another, which in case of blackout, your neighbor’s network coverage It can be completely different from yours. And a third has to do with a doubt that you may have raised: how nose worked yesterday some datáphones, while others were completely useless.

Datáphones with SIM. During the blackout hoursthere was a type of dataphone that was practically unusable: the one that worked by SIM card. You may have ever had problems when paying in a trade because the dataphone had no coverage and gave connection error.

Imagine that phenomenon with a good part of the completely fallen national network infrastructure. No mobile network connection, a dataphone with SIM does not work. It is a logic that is understood even better knowing the operating system that feeds the datáphones: Android.

Dataphone connected to Wi -Fi. The upper bar interface is exactly the same of Android Stock, because these devices use Android.

Datáphones with fiber connection. Connecting to a SIM card with 3G or 4G connection is not the only way datáphones have to make payments, it is also possible to connect them to a router that provides wifi thanks to the optical fiber. It is exactly the same process that performs a mobile phone or any other device that connects to this type of network.

Mercadona was one of the great examples in Spainthanks to its SAI (uninterrupted feeding system). In other words, the supermarket chain had numerous energy generators, which allowed to maintain the electricity supply of its shops limited. During the time in which they were operational, the TPV could both load and maintain a network connection.

“Offline” datáphones. Without connection to mobile or wifi network, would it remain technically possible to make a dataphone purchase? The answer is another yes. Both visa and mastercard use a Offline authorizations systemsomething that makes it possible to make transactions even in scenarios in which the terminal has no connection.

The TPV stores locally (encrypted) the transaction data, to send them to the bank at the time the connection is recovered. This ability to operate offline depends on both the type of TPV and the issuing bank itself, which must allow it. This last solution is minority in Spain, and the TPVs that were working in businesses such as Mercadona did it thanks to the electricity supply and network connection. But, technically, it is possible to make them work without it.

Payment platforms. A dataphone does not serve much without a payment platform. Although the TPV is associated with a specific bank (BBVA, Caixa, Sabadell, etc.), transactions pass through a payment platform. In Spain, the most used is Redsys. This operates as an intermediary between the two shops (store and bank), validating and authorizing the transaction.

Both banks and Redsys have energy backup infrastructure. During the blackout, crisis protocols were activated and most operations were carried out with a certain degree of continuity. The ability of entities to maintain their services during the blackout depends exclusively on these energy support systems (generators and SAI).

The end of cash. The energy blackout has raised the inevitable: to think about whether or not Spain is prepared to The end of cash. During the fall hours the shops were divided into two: those that could operate with hardly any problems thanks to a good network connection (mobile or wifi) and their own energy supply, and those that had to close completely.

Without battery or connection there is no dataphone or computer program that can manage payments, and there is only cash.

Image | Sumup

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