Thread regarding AT&T layoffs

It doesn’t make economical sense for phone companies to keep maintaining POTS as it’s a declining customer base.

Someone will have to pry my Verizon landline from my cold dead hands before I’ll give it up. The only thing that kept me in touch with people during superstorm Sandy. And my powder blue touch tone trimline phone worked perfectly!

Brand new subdivisions going in and they have to run copper instead of fiber. Makes us look like a third world country.

The irony is that POTS is incredibly expensive be a use of all the added on taxes and fees. These fees will migrate over to cellular bills as POTS winds down because the government still has to hit its numbers for services like rural telephone subsidies (Universal Service Fee), 911 service, poison control fee, franchise fee, etc.

You’re comparing Puerto Rico to the states ? Government there is corrupt and it’s well known their power and communications infrastructure is neglected and not maintained. Here in the states though , the central offices’ batteries and generators are very well maintained and tested constantly. Especially here in Florida. The COs keep POTS working long after cell towers have failed. Also, COs physically survive hurricanes and other natural disasters whereas cell towers get knocked out pretty easily. It’s just basic physics. What hold up better ? A windowless concrete fortress or an exposed tower with sensitive electronics exposed to all the elements ?

I guess rry never heard of first net. And ask the people of Puerto Rico how their pots did with hurricane Maria. What little communication they had were by cell and HAM radio.

ups can only work for an hour or a little more.

You got a c-appy UPS. Those Uverse gateways don’t have very high draw. Mine lasts HOURS on my 1500VA UPS.

The batteries that keep the cell towers up are good for 3 days tops. That’s the upgraded ones. Some still go down after less than a day.

Some go down immediately.

So here’s the thing. Here in south Florida when a hurricane hits you and you’ve been without power for a week and your generator is out of gas , about the only thing working is your pots line. Your cell phones are dead. The batteries that keep the cell towers up are good for 3 days tops. That’s the upgraded ones. Some still go down after less than a day. Pots should be considered an emergency circuit, relied upon during times of natural disasters and worse. It should be maintained for such occasions. What happens if /when our power grid gets hacked or if the internet gets brought down. You’ll wish you had emergency communications with your old POTS line then.

It should be illegal for phone companies to discontinue PSTN/POTS service, even if not a single person in the country uses it anymore.

AT&T should have to keep the landline system operational and to the same degree that it existed in 1995, even if it means a 75% reduction in quarterly profit margins.

Private phone companies getting rid of POTS would be like the private owners of the Empire State Building deciding to demolish it in favor of building a more energy efficient skysc-aper in it's place - It simply should be forbidden in the name of historical preservation of white American history.

“Makes you wonder when power fails what people will do because ups can only work for an hour or a little more. I have had outages last just shy of a week.“

Ask a Millennial what to do they don’t have POTS land lines. I think 1/2 the country no longer has one. Last time I had a POTS line was about 15 years ago and I have survived.

“ Makes you wonder when power fails what people will do because ups can only work for an hour or a little more. I have had outages last just shy of a week.“

Who cares? Nobody talks anymore. Can’t text with a landline. Power goes out? Oh well.

Makes you wonder when power fails what people will do because ups can only work for an hour or a little more. I have had outages last just shy of a week.

The AT&T plan for several years has been provide broadband connection to the home, and POTS converts to VOIP. Sensible plan to eliminate old costly technology.

AT&T s—s. No stable vision for the future. Thank God I can get mine and GTFO before it implodes. Someone needs to fire Stephenson.

Not that landlines aren't dying, but that article looks dated June 2017.

Bye bye POTS you mean.