[Infowarrior] - AT&T Tells FCC It's Time to Cut the Cord

[Richard Forno]

AT&T Tells FCC It's Time to Cut the Cord

http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/185649/atandt_tells_fcc_its_time_to_cut_the_cord.html
By Tony Bradley

In response to a Notice of Inquiry released by the FCC to explore how  
to transition to a purely IP-based communications network, AT&T has  
declared that it's time to cut the cord. AT&T told the FCC that the  
death of landlines is a matter of when , not if, and asked that a firm  
deadline be set for pulling the plug.

AT&T said in its response to the FCC that "with each passing day, more  
and more communications services migrate to broadband and IP-based  
services, leaving the public switched telephone network ("PSTN") and  
plain-old telephone service ("POTS") as relics of a by-gone era."
It also stated "It makes no sense to require service providers to  
operate and maintain two distinct networks when technology and  
consumer preferences have made one of them increasingly obsolete."

Moving to VoIP

Providers like Vonage have been delivering VoIP (Voice over IP) for  
consumers over broadband Internet connections for years. I should  
know, I was one of the charter members. I haven't had an actual POTS  
landline for at least five years.

While my local telephone providers wanted to nickel and dime me for  
"features" like caller ID and voicemail, Vonage has reliably provided  
all-inclusive service for $24.95 for as long as I can remember.

While Vonage is still a major player in the consumer VoIP market, just  
about every communications entity has joined in the game now. VoIP  
phone services are offered as a bundled service along with broadband  
Internet service, and digital cable TV by major players like Comcast,  
Verizon, and AT&T itself.

Transition to Mobile

The way wireless phone plans are set up now, it is hard to argue in  
favor of keeping both a mobile phone and a home phone--even a VoIP  
line. You can get unlimited minutes of talk time with all of the bells  
and whistles you can imagine--caller ID, call forwarding, etc. Many  
plans come with unlimited data, unlimited text messaging, and more.  
With all of that service in your hip pocket, do you really need a  
phone attached to your wall?

The number of U.S. households that have ditched the landline entirely  
in favor of relying solely on mobile phones doubled between 2006 and  
2009. A quarter of U.S. households no longer have a landline of any  
kind, and that number will continue to grow.

No Dial Tone

One of the last remaining reasons for maintaining a standard POTS  
landline is the fact that in most cases the POTS line maintains a dial  
tone and the ability to make and receive calls during catastrophes and  
emergencies.

When Hurricane Ike hit here in the Houston area, there was no power  
for days, or even weeks in some areas. No power means no broadband  
Internet, which means VoIP phone services like Vonage don't work. No  
power to cell towers means no bars on your cell signal and no wireless  
service.

Some broadband VoIP providers have solutions to address at least short- 
term power outages. AT&T provides its UVerse customers with a UPS  
(uninterruptable power supply) battery back-up that maintains power to  
the broadband router at least for a while.

Emergency services, and the ability to place 911 calls have also been  
an issue. With a POTS landline it is easy to match a phone number with  
a physical address, but with broadband VoIP you could be calling from  
around the corner or around the world and the 911 operators can't  
tell. There are solutions in place for 911 calls via broadband VoIP,  
but users who drop landlines entirely in favor of wireless phones may  
have issues getting timely emergency service.

Those are issues that will have to be worked out, though. The future  
marches on, and it is fair for AT&T and other traditional POTS  
providers to want to drop the obsolete, unprofitable technology and  
focus their resources on the universal broadband and IP communications  
of tomorrow.