It's very personal. I would love to retain copper service for as long as possible. Every time I ask our local Verizon people what they are doing to resolve (or create an alternative) to the limited battery back-up system for our local phones that are on the FIOS system, I get a blank stare! However, I have no idea how to really find another carrier and am not succeeding so far. The Ultimate Survival Preparedness Kit for Your Car, CES 2014: A Parade of New Emergency Devices by Eton. The U.S. once had the best communications system in the world on copper and your phone almost never went down. The only calls I get on landline are robo calls anyway. We are upgrading our network and will retire the copper wire and replace it with new fiber optic technology to offer improved performance. Thank you for your response. I do appreciate it. January 15, 2020 After the first landline telephones arrived in New Zealand in 1881, a copper phone line network was built across the country, ultimately reaching 98 … Copper lines are a thing from the past. Isn’t anyone concerned about another 9/11 or worse? The psychology of needing a wire is going away. Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. The included Wi-Fi gateway router can be managed through a user-friendly app that works on your computer or your mobile devices. These range from urban exchanges in New York City to exchanges scattered all over the outer suburbs of … If you find a substitute copper carrier in New York City/State, please let me know. They promised us up and down that there would be no increase to cost and the service would be just as good if not better. $90 with the insurance to take care of the line for service calls!! That is the one area of concern raised by these notices. There are ways for you to provide back up power for the ONT (the Verizon electronics on the outside of the house). But the copper wiring that once connected his … Thomas MacNabb, Verizon's director of operations for wireline support, said that the copper lines in 44 wire centers or zip codes in Pennsylvania and other states are the first to be decommissioned this year - kicking off Verizon's multiyear "network transformation." What happened to not having a conglomeration? As somebody who has seen the big telcos fail to meet promises many times, I’d be nervous if I was a Verizon customer still served by copper and had to rely on Verizon’s assurance that they have ‘plans’ to bring fiber. Verizon is also retiring the older DMS telephone switches, purchased years ago from the long-defunct Northern Telecom. It is a major concern for our family and I am tired of fighting with Verizon about this. But that can get rather complicated. Correction: Verizon shut off my service on 10/20/2020. I was told I need a dedicated outlet for the battery back ups. With a wireless home phone system, we're not talking about the cordless phones that have been around for years, with a cordless handset but a receiver that's connected to a landline. An answer by David Fred, below, assumes that you are asking about landline phones being replaced by mobile/cellular phones, and he cites bandwidth as a reason that it is unlikely to occur—ever. Can anyone confirm please that I have correctly stated the position above. I’m one of the last holdouts in the area, a senior running alarm, CO2 detector, Medical Alert (Wilkie talkie) through Central Station on my copper landline lifeline. Cell phones with voice quality that is often poor that you have to charge every day and can lose, leaving you with the same communications ability a person had in 1776. This is a public safety issue, not to mention that our business services are severely impacted. I have to hope that Verizon has considered these situations and that they won’t let customers go dead. The exact speeds offered in your ar… For the FiOS connection, you can receive up to 1,000 Mbps. It now costs $71 plus all the fees and taxes they throw on just to have what is almost basic telephone service! We may earn commission if you buy from a link. Verizon makes me angry. Whether it is landline (which more and more families are moving away from) or business line, where more companies are relying on IT and wireless options, the use of copper lines being dug below ground is something which simply isn't necessary in today's day and age. What happens to customers who still only have a copper alternative? Still no service. I agree with Wolfram’s comment below. Is that being considered by Verizon but not mentioned in these filings? It's very nice. Unlike the old days where copper carried electricity even when the services might not be working, the fiber network carries only light and not electricity. Thinking of canceling Verizon landline. And, I told Verizon that if the pandemic is as bad or worse when the date comes up, I will move the appointment forward to another date. I was also told by someone at verizon that I could try to find “another copper carrier”. Landlines transmit voice and data signals by copper wire through electric pulses. Fiber optics “land lines” (VOIPS) offer rediculously limited battery backup capability …and we also now have a sea of confusing phone options to wade through. In 2012, after Hurricane Sandy destroyed much of the copper infrastructure in western Fire Island, N.Y., Verizon didn’t want to fix the phone lines. It all about money and all those politicians whom pockets have been lined. There's not enough spectrum in the world for that. If they have a maintenance issue will Verizon refuse to fix it? So, why should this be eliminated and what are the benefits of going wireless? Three months on this and we’re already having an outage. We never had an outage in 10 years on copper. I am sheltered in place and have health concerns about Verizon techs tracking Coronavirus through my home, as they install fiber optic batteries and service. Our electrical grids in the U.S. are already prime targets. Has the Government given up its reliable copper lines? Telephone service will be moved to more modern softs switches that Verizon uses for fiber customers. Although the Federal Communications Commission has rules mandating that carriers put through all 911 calls (part of the reason your smartphone will let you place an emergency call without unlocking it), the FCC has said that requiring the carriers to maintain the old landline systems is unsustainable. And that's only if the service towers aren't damaged. I believe the percentage of the population this will affect is rather significant. You can usually do better by buying a good UPS yourself. Mobile phone carriers, such as those mounted on HV lines, may die quickly as well. "It's a reasonable idea and I'm sure it's very popular with the under-25 set, the people that grew up with cellphones," Dellomo says. Here are the three steps you need to take when considering moving away from copper phone lines: And would love to know as someone asked above—Has the government given up all their copper service ? If your phone rings now, bet your bottom bitcoin it’s no one you know Even when phoning was a popular pastime, rather than an invitation to a panic attack, not everyone’s call was answered. None, in our local area anyway, seem to be able to provide us with answers. 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