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POTS over copper wire. AT&T is legally obliged to continue offering/maintaining it (in California at least), but they don't market the service and you have to s

POTS over copper wire. AT&T is legally obliged to continue offering/maintaining it (in California at least), but they don't market the service and you have to specifically ask for it. a lot of people aren't aware of the situation. AT&T is continually trying to get out of their obligation (in California at least). The fewer people who use it, the better AT&T's argument for discontinuing service becomes. In the event of a widespread disaster, people who can make a phone call are going to have better access to emergency services.

bluedino 9y ago
They are jacking the prices up on renewal. They wanted 4x the current rate on every POTS line we had unless we bundled another service like wireless (cellular), DirecTV, or GoToMeeting
- thephyber 9y ago
  I remember paying ~$30/mo in 2012. Are you saying it would cost 50% more for one landline than an AT&T cell line with a healthy data plan?
redblacktree 9y ago
Is this relevant to the article? Did you post it in the wrong place?
- newman8r 9y ago
  yeah it's relevant as a dying technology. the article includes the iPhone on a graph, so it's not much of a leap to mention traditional telephone service.
joezydeco 9y ago
AT&T has already gotten approval in Illinois to disconnect the remaining 10% of households on POTS, pending final FCC approval. http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-att-landline-end-illinois-0706-biz-20170705-story.html http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-att-landline-end-i...
- newman8r 9y ago
  that's unfortunate. I'm curious about the possibility of some other entity (cities, counties, local groups) taking control over the systems and providing cheap or free service. ham radio groups might be good at that.
  - joezydeco 9y ago
    Anything that doesn't look like a wall-mounted phone will never go over with the groups that really need it. Especially seniors. IMO what's needed is a product with a simple cellular voice modem that plugs into the telco interface box and simulates the legacy landline service.
    - toomuchtodo 9y ago
      The solution you've suggested exists. http://www.portech-us.com/ http://www.portech-us.com/ It's called a cellular analog gateway.
      - joezydeco 9y ago
        It's got to be a bit more consumer-friendly than this (and retrofittable into existing house wiring including power supply), but yeah this is what I was talking about.
        toomuchtodo 9y ago
        > It's got to be a bit more consumer-friendly than this If the demand is there, I encourage you to build such a solution! The BOM should only be ~$30-40, maybe a bit more. > and retrofittable into existing house wiring including power supply This is simple. You simply disconnect the wiring on the outside of the house where the ILEC terminates their on-prem wiring, and plug this device in to the house wiring (this is usually how cable providers and other non-ILECS do it when they put equipment on prem to provide phone services over fiber or coax). You then battery back it with a lead acid cell.
theonemind 9y ago
You also have to understand when talking with AT&T that it has a separate account system and personnel, and the system tends to route you to their more popular offerings by default. Confirm with everyone you talk to that you mean a LANDLINE and that person has access to the landline support and account systems, or you end up with pretty crazy results, personnel claiming you don't have service calls, trying to identify your account and getting the closet match as some old closed one. Really a pain to get routed around for 45 minutes to get transferred back to someone who doesn't deal with landlines again.

bluedino 9y ago

They are jacking the prices up on renewal. They wanted 4x the current rate on every POTS line we had unless we bundled another service like wireless (cellular), DirecTV, or GoToMeeting

thephyber 9y ago
I remember paying ~$30/mo in 2012. Are you saying it would cost 50% more for one landline than an AT&T cell line with a healthy data plan?

redblacktree 9y ago

Is this relevant to the article? Did you post it in the wrong place?

newman8r 9y ago
yeah it's relevant as a dying technology. the article includes the iPhone on a graph, so it's not much of a leap to mention traditional telephone service.

joezydeco 9y ago

AT&T has already gotten approval in Illinois to disconnect the remaining 10% of households on POTS, pending final FCC approval. http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-att-landline-end-illinois-0706-biz-20170705-story.html http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-att-landline-end-i...

newman8r 9y ago
that's unfortunate. I'm curious about the possibility of some other entity (cities, counties, local groups) taking control over the systems and providing cheap or free service. ham radio groups might be good at that.
- joezydeco 9y ago
  Anything that doesn't look like a wall-mounted phone will never go over with the groups that really need it. Especially seniors. IMO what's needed is a product with a simple cellular voice modem that plugs into the telco interface box and simulates the legacy landline service.
  - toomuchtodo 9y ago
    The solution you've suggested exists. http://www.portech-us.com/ http://www.portech-us.com/ It's called a cellular analog gateway.
    - joezydeco 9y ago
      It's got to be a bit more consumer-friendly than this (and retrofittable into existing house wiring including power supply), but yeah this is what I was talking about.
      - toomuchtodo 9y ago
        > It's got to be a bit more consumer-friendly than this If the demand is there, I encourage you to build such a solution! The BOM should only be ~$30-40, maybe a bit more. > and retrofittable into existing house wiring including power supply This is simple. You simply disconnect the wiring on the outside of the house where the ILEC terminates their on-prem wiring, and plug this device in to the house wiring (this is usually how cable providers and other non-ILECS do it when they put equipment on prem to provide phone services over fiber or coax). You then battery back it with a lead acid cell.

theonemind 9y ago

You also have to understand when talking with AT&T that it has a separate account system and personnel, and the system tends to route you to their more popular offerings by default. Confirm with everyone you talk to that you mean a LANDLINE and that person has access to the landline support and account systems, or you end up with pretty crazy results, personnel claiming you don't have service calls, trying to identify your account and getting the closet match as some old closed one. Really a pain to get routed around for 45 minutes to get transferred back to someone who doesn't deal with landlines again.