Glenn Reynolds links to a story that says AT&T is going to try to eliminate the old copper wire phone technology in favor of all the fiber-optic, cable-driven, wireless technology like Voice-over IP. In other words, no more land lines.
Well, you can’t have my land line. I’m switching over to FIOS TV and internet next week, and I’m still not giving up my land line.
I’m going to be ready for the zombie apocalypse, and you can have my land line when the zombies eat it from my cold, dead hands.
And not before.
actually, when you go to FIOS, they WILL be cutting your copper line, and your land line will go over the fiber line.
FIOS may be fine for TV and Internet, but I want my phone to be separate. Copper-wired phone lines stay running if cable goes down. Cell towers can go down…no means of communication in case of emergency.
Plus no issue with copper getting an IP virus or hacked (unless there is a court order)
The phone guy who wanted to install fios was insisting my driveway had to be torn up instead of coming in through the grass in my yard.
Plus you have to have a contract with fios. EXCUSE ME!!
Copper is becoming a precious metal and copper wires will be stolen. No-one is going to steal a bunch of glass-fibre cables.
In addition, solar flares induce currents in copper wires which will ph0q up your phone. Remember 1859.
I work extensively with VOIP. Our organization has all sorts of contingency and emergency plans including natural gas powered generators which start automatically after they detect a power outage greater than 30 seconds.
w/r/t not wanting to let go of your copper land-line you are most certainly an old-fashioned conservative reactionary crank.
And you are also 100% CORRECT in never giving up your land line!
Plain Old Telephone Service (p.o.t.s.) is over a century old and is proven, ultra-reliable technology. It will almost certainly work in any type of power outage or other extreme situation as long as the wire is intact.
Our organization insists that all departments converting to VOIP – which does help them avoid considerable expense – have at least one plain old-fashioned telephone on each floor.
At home we each have a cell phone. And I hold an Amateur Radio license with privileges on all bands.
And we have three old-fashioned wired phones.
Excellent choice Meryl!
Nope, Mrfred, they won’t be cutting my copper line. I’m not going to FIOS telephone. I’m keeping my copper wire land line. You don’t have to go with VOIP or fiber optics. Verizon has packages that include the copper land lines that are already there.