An epileptic woman from Hants County, N.S. says she was shocked to learn that a lengthy power outage could disable her EastLink phone connection.

Terra McMullin-Mullin signed up for EastLink phone service earlier this year.

When an electrical problem at her rented house caused a power outage Sunday, she didn't think twice about her phone. So she said she was shocked to discover it was no longer working Monday morning.

"I started to panic," McMullin-Mullin said.

With her epilepsy, she takes several pills a day and said she needs a constant, reliable line in case of a seizure.

When she called Eastlink she discovered that it has a back up battery power source that lasts between eight to12 hours.

Terra McMullin-Mullin signed up for EastLink phone services earlier this year. (CBC)

EastLink said it's an industry standard that addresses more than 99.95% of all power outages.

But MacMullin-Mullin says it's that other small percentage that worries her.

"It's just not feasible and it's not feasible for other people in my situation or disabled people and I don't even know if other people are aware of it."

Jill Laing, spokeswoman for EastLink, said she's not sure if new customers are made aware that their phone service is powered by electricity.

Laing said they do their best to educate customers about their products and their fibre network is one of the most reliable in North America.

MacMullin-Mullin said she'll switch to ensure she has a working phone if she needs it.