AT&T will obsolete landlines by 2020

[jodymarie aimee]

I don't own a cellphone, never have, and see no need for one ..I make 4-5 calls a MONTH. Those are to my Doc. So, I am on that landline phone yesterday with AT&T (to disconnect)and the support guy tells me that AT&T will obsolete landlines by 2020. This is not good news for old folks who still rely on them. Especially poor old folks...

[unblock]

1. Our security system uses the landline. That's the only reason we still have it.

[meadowlander]

79. Same here.

I didn't have a landline for about ten years and then had to get one in my new house to get a security system.

That said, I'm not sure why alarm system can't just use cell technology.

[Duppers]

121. Cells rely on batteries which can die.

If the electricity goes out, then you have no phone connection if the battery is dead.

I do not know how they intend to overcome this issue. Elevators must also have land connections.

[meadowlander]

124. But the alarm system itself is plugged in

so why couldn't you run the cell phone technology off the same main electricity as the rest of the alarm and just have a small battery/power storage unit so that the alarm could still work if there was a power outage? It's not like the alarm needs to go off for hours at a time and the likelihood of there being a simultaneous extended power outage and home break-in or medical emergency seems relatively slim. Plus if the power was off for that long, the motion detectors would stop working at a certain point anyway so it wouldn't matter if the phone was out of juice too.

[Duppers]

125. Good points.

So, I dunno.

I do know that with elevators, if the electricity goes out and you get stuck, you cannot always depend on a cell phone keeping its charge. That was what I was told by an elevator salesman when I questioned him about the need for a landline in the elevator. He said his company would not insure or depend on generators either.

[Soxfan58]

131. Why would they depend on a technology

That can be disabled by a pair of wire cutters from outside?

[Blue_Adept]

2. Haven't had one myself for at least a decade

No sad thoughts there for me.

[temporary311]

3. How much do landlines cost a month?

Haven't had one in years. There are prepaid phones that are pretty inexpensive. 10-15 bucks a month or so.

[GeorgeGist]

4. $50 minimum

[left-of-center2012]

6. Just to have one in Albuquerque ...

Last time I checked it's $40 a month minimum.

[womanofthehills]

108. That's right. I'm south of Albuquerque & pay $44.00 a month - no long distance included

but I do have caller identification. I'm about to drop my land line as i mostly use my cell - trying to get everyone to call me on my cell first. I will miss being able to call my cell phone to find it.

[NutmegYankee]

22. $25. I have one as well as cell.

[Bengus81]

24. The one I dumped about a year ago was AT&T and was about $60 per month...

I kept it until I retired because so many prior customers had that number but not my cell. The cell I have with Verizon is a no frills--no data and is HALF what that land line was. I was thinking back and I'd paid SW Bell/AT&T monthly from 1974 (first apt) thru early 2017.

People can go that route or even Consumer cellular and pay a hell of alot less than a landline.

[MineralMan]

60. Ours is $25/mo. with unlimited long distance calls.

I'll miss it if it isn't there. It's my main business and home phone number.

I also have my collection of old telephones all connected to it, including an old oak wall phone with a separate mic and earpiece. It still works for receiving calls and I pick it up every once in a while if I'm in the kitchen when the phone rings.

In my office, that line is connected to a stand-alone headset phone that sounds better than any cell phone handset. I use that, so I can type notes while on calls with clients.

We also have a bundled phone with our cable service, but there's nothing connected to that one. We have about six cell phones and cellular devices, as well, including a USB device that lets us use our notebook computer wherever we go on 4G cell service.

I'll hand onto my old POTS landline for as long as it's available.

[hunter]

74. There are a lot of little electronic projects and a few commercial devices...

... that let you use antique phones on modern networks, even cell phone networks.

A quick google search came up with this:

http://www.oldphoneworks.com/rotatone-pulse-to-tone-converter.html

I have a few working dial phones too.

Years ago when my kids were small their friends would come over, ask to make a call, and look at the big black Western Electric dial phone on my desk like...



wikipedia

By high school they all had their own cell phones.

[crazycatlady]

61. I managed my elderly grandmother's finances

Her landline was in the ballpark of $50/month.

Meanwhile I pay $80 for two smartphones.

[Initech]

5. I'm actually for this.

My land line gets bombarded with scammers and telemarketers, especially during election time. And it seems like it's got considerably worse in the last couple of years. I'm about ready to smash my land phone if it keeps up!

[CatMor]

28. Same happened to me....

I finally got rid of my land line and I'm happy about it.

[spooky3]

64. Ditto. Switched to a voip bundled with internet. Saved

About $20 per month AND have Nomorobo (free) which now keeps out about 80% of the illegal calls.

[RobinA]

80. You Might Feel Different

if your house were in a place that didn’t have cell service.

[Initech]

98. That does suck.

But there's plenty of other ways to get out of having a landline - VOIP, internet based calling, etc.

[phylny]

100. Nice if it's in your area. We have poor cell service, satellite TV

and satellite Internet service. I need my landline for security reasons, which is via Verizon.

[Ms. Toad]

110. You are aware that the very places that do not have cell service

often have even less reliable internet access, aren't you?

Many rural areas have neither reliable cell nor internet access (except via their land lines).

[tymorial]

114. There are still some places where there is no phone lines or cell signals.

I stay at such a place for a weekend every summer in Vermont.

[MrsCoffee]

112. When the power goes out, voip and internet based calling doesn't work.

[madinmaryland]

137. A small UPS battery back-up will last for 24 or more hours depending on the size of the UPS...

and how much you actually use it during an outage. Verizon actually put in a battery back-up for us when we were still in Maryland.

[GoCubsGo]

87. If you get their digital/VOIP service, they have a scam blocker.

It either screens out or notes on your caller ID that it's a potential scammer. I know what you mean about being bombarded, however. The new service AT&T has seems to have eased that up quite a bit, though. Also, I just don't pick up the phone if I don't recognize the number on the Caller ID. Lately, It's been more "wrong numbers" than scammers. I never had that problem until everyone started using only a cell phone. Now, it's practically every day.

[ooky]

97. It will keep up. I love not having to put with the scammers and telemarketers.

My Iphone has a feature called Do Not Disturb that eliminates them completely. Using this feature you can set up who can call you - then everyone else can't. Works fantastic. No reason for anybody to put up with scammers and telemarketers anymore.

[Initech]

99. My Galaxy S9 has that feature as well. So great!

I can swat spammers and scammers faster than they appear!

[left-of-center2012]

7. Some medical alert systems require a landline

It'd pull the plug on these medical alert systems.

[Bettie]

8. I like our land line

I like that there is a number that can reach any member of the family, just a general number for all of us.

[Blue_true]

19. Cellphones allow you to program in a lot of numbers by name.

There are very inexpensive cell plans for casual users. For what you are paying for landline, you can get a pretty high level cell service without a contract.

[Bettie]

30. But it still ends up being

a phone for one person.

My nine year old is fortunate that we live across the street from his buddies, because we never know whose cell (mom, dad, older sister, older brother) to call to ask if they can play.

My older ones want phones and to get a plan with the amount of data they believe is the minimum they could live with for each of them? WAY more than our land line.

[Blue_true]

51. How is your Internet service delivered?

DSL, T1, Cable Modem? DSL and maybe T1 will likely go away soon, replaced by a wireless pipe. Copper wire is expensive to maintain for Phone companies, my guess is with Trump in office, they are going to try to dump land customers as soon as possible. You should try Voice Over IP (VOIP), at least then when your copper wire connection is eliminated, the change will not be noticed by you unless you have a really old computer. VOIP should solve the issues that you raised and you can add bandwidth at minimal cost to you.

[zanana1]

9. That is bad.

I have a landline and can't afford a cellphone. I'm just too poor to keep up with technology.

[JNelson6563]

13. My cell costs less than a landline.

If you don't use your phone at all it's next to nothing per month. Ting.com

[Blue_true]

21. You can get a $15-$25 per month cell service that cost less than your landline

and offer more. The only limitation is be careful if you are rural, but cell companies have largely covered that by building out good cell tower coverage.

[Bengus81]

27. Yeah you can,Cells today are cheaper than a landline.....

When you get a plan just tell them you won't need a data package with it. That is just for surfing the web on your phone and can easily double the cost. But...you'll still have unlimited text and voicemail.

[RhodeIslandOne]

29. Don't be overwhelmed

While most tv ads are geared towards kids with disposable income hailing phones and plans that cost hundreds, you can find many cell phones and plans that are cheaper than what you pay for a landline.

[exboyfil]

34. Check out Tracfone

With Autorenew it is about $7/mo. and that includes 1 MB of data and 60 minutes. My wife pays about $25/mo. for her US Cellular that has unlimited text and phone.

[RKP5637]

35. Look at Tracfone. They are excellent and you can get ones that are cheap and work well.

https://www.tracfone.com/

[Eliot Rosewater]

59. I also know BOOST is pretty good, for $50 unlimited data, calls, etc.

[kimbutgar]

102. I use tracfone.

And my landline. It costs me about $24 every three months. No frills phone though unless I provide my own smart phone. But I can text, take calls and go on the internet if I have to.

[Lee-Lee]

38. Cellphones are cheap now and you may qualify for a free one

Check out the programs

You can get a basic phone for prepaid plans for $40 at Wal-Marr and service as low as $15-25 a month for the basics, even out of pocket that’s probably cheaper than landline.

[sarcasmo]

10. No land line since 2006.

[Brother Buzz]

11. AT&T obsoleted my rotary telephone years ago

I can receive telephone calls, but can't make one. My son hooked me up with a system on the computer that allowed me to make outgoing telephone calls, but he didn't sufficiently explain to this reformed Luddite how it worked before he went off to college; I miss my resident computer guru.

[Blue_true]

23. Voice over IP. Allows you to make calls using the Internet. nt

[TexasProgresive]

36. That is really odd that you can't use rotary as it is the default on land lines.

All telephone switches when I retired 3 years ago that was the case. Touchtone was and to my knowledge a special feature that you pay and extra fee to have. Rotary dialing requires no additional equipment because it is just a break make break signal. When you dial a 1 there is one break, when you dial 0 there are 10 breaks. It is an extremely simple signalling process.

[Brother Buzz]

58. It totally flipped. There was a time when touchtone was at a premium....

and I saved a whopping seventy-five cents a month sticking with analog, until it was quietly dropped. I'm guessing the technology advanced, and supporting analog simply got too expensive. Interesting, the telephone service guy hooked me up when they dropped analog by dedicating a third wire to make my rotary telephone ring (using the second, unused line to my house). He had to go down the street to a junction box to jump or bridge a power wire over to make the magic happen.

[TexasProgresive]

73. It still doesn't make sense to me.

One thing to remember is that rotary signalling is actually digital. It is a series of ons and offs. That is digital. Touchtone is an audible tone that requires a device to interpret the tones which then become in this age a digital signal that tells the switch where to send the call. There was a move with Verizon to replace subscribers true landline service with a device that connected to cell service. These I imagine would be just like mobile phones which do not use either touchtone or rotary signalling. I believe this is also true for Voice over internet VOIP service although there are different ways to implement it. Some require a special phone and other systems use existing phones but I don't think rotary works.

[Brother Buzz]

84. All I know is it rings and I get to talk with old friends on a comfortable old school telephone

[TexasProgresive]

91. Do you get a dial tone when you lift the handset?

[Brother Buzz]

92. Yes, and the rotary dial makes all the appropriator ticks, then the dial tone kicks back in

[TexasProgresive]

95. I have to give up trying to understand what's going on.

The only way I could figure it out is to be at your house and that's not possible. Thanks for all your replies, sorry I could solve your problem. Maybe if you got a phone that has the option of tones and pulse or could borrow an instrument with tone.

[Nac Mac Feegle]

119. Over the past years, TT has become the default

Since pretty much everywhere is served by an ESS, the Telcos have pushed through TouchTone as the default. I interface with some pretty backwards Independents, and there aren't any steppers or crossbars left.

With the ESS, the tones are part of SS7, which involves everything to do with billing,call routing, and 911 services.


Currently active 'fone tek' and CWA member (40+ years).

[TexasProgresive]

129. I worked for Verizon fGTE in Texas.

Switching was digital using ESS, GTD-5, DMS switches with SS7. Pulse was still the default. That's why I am confused.

[OnDoutside]

12. Sounds like there's a market for classes in using a smartphone, jodymarie ! It's like everything

else, the input of time, is what makes the difference. Smartphones are actually quite intuitive.

[uppityperson]

14. Some of us live in areas without cell reception, or with frequent power outages

But the majority of people don't have that problem.

[Yonnie3]

103. My home in the country too.

In the winter if you find just the right spot and don't move you can make a call. My old analog brick phone worked OK out there.

The new people out there have been fighting cell towers, or we'd have service. These new people are in million dollar estates on 5 acres with a McMansion. They want the bears and skunks shot because they get in the food they leave out in their cars and trash. They can't keep their hulking big SUVs on their side of the road either. Why the eff did they move out to the woods? /end geezer rant

[Different Drummer]

109. I'm in the same boat. Wishing I was in the majority. n/t

[lindysalsagal]

128. Yes: This would require far more broadcast towers in rural areas.

[uppityperson]

134. I don't live very far out, but there are hills. Cable would cost $20,000+ so it's

not an option

[ProfessorGAC]

15. That Doesn't Mean They Won't Support VOIP, I Bet

If you have internet access already, VOIP is very cheap.

We have our phone and internet service bundled. The phone portion is only around $12 a month, if it's even that high.

It's not in any way connected to the old phone line running to the house. They tapped into the hub that wire used to be hooked to so the existing phone lines in the house all worked so it's transparent to us.

Acts like a regular old land line, but is completely directed as internet traffic and does not count toward data usage. (Although my wife and i use only a fraction of the data we're allowed, so it doesn't matter anyway.)

[Hugin]

16. I'm required to have a landline for work.

If AT&T were to do this it would provide an opening to re-establish the local co-op phone companies.

[Vinca]

17. Guess we'll have to move. Cell phone reception is spotty where we live and a "hot spot"

is right across from our house. Cars routinely park along the dirt road to use their cell phones. I suspect another carrier will offer the service since this country isn't totally accessible for cell service.

[Blue_true]

31. Set up Voice Over IP (VOIP). Effective and solves the problems you just listed.

And it is fairly inexpensive.

[Blue_true]

18. You can get a cheap flip cellphone for almost nothing, and buy a low bandwidth calling plan.

You are a cell company's dream, you can use an inexpensive phone for them, and you make very few calls, it is easy for them to make a profit on a cheap to you plan. Try talking to Boost Mobile and some of the other companies like Metro PCS that cater to cell users that need inexpensive planes.

[BSdetect]

20. 5G will make landlines obsolete.

They are not going to maintain infrastructure that costs more than income.

[RockRaven]

25. I doubt that they will go through with that, sounds like a salesmanish ploy of some kind

The predominant internet access around here is AT&T DSL. Why would they stop collecting that extra $40-50/month for the landline when they already have to maintain the same copper wire network for the DSL?

[brush]

39. That's my thinking too. Why would they throw away that income on lines they...

have to maintain anyway?

Sounds like the OP poster got an IT person giving his/her own biased opinion not the company's future policy.

[Blue_true]

40. I would not bet on your claim.

Maybe 5 years ago, you had a point. But with big wireless capacity and increases in the range of that capacity, landline users are a burden for phone companies, not a profit center - that dynamic will become even more so with time. Having a landline is like pulling a horse carriage onto a freeway, you don't see that tried often.

[NCTraveler]

42. They already are in some areas. nt

[GoCubsGo]

47. The DSL isn't on the copper network.

At least that is what I was told when they forced me onto the digital phone. It's my understanding that the DSL is a whole separate line, and that's what the telephone is on now in many areas. My phone runs through the same router that provides my Internet. The copper line no longer works.

[Duppers]

122. Excellent point.

👍

[Zorro]

26. Wonder how this will affect those with DSL

U-Verse uses ATT landlines to deliver their services to the home.

[Blue_true]

43. Likely will go wireless.

My guess is the few people without wireless devices will be left in the cold unless they get wireless plans. Maintaining wireless is cheaper, one Tech on a tower fixes a wide area problem, versus having line people drive around checking wires, plus, a tree falling has no impact on wireless.

[GoCubsGo]

65. It won't.

The "land lines" refer to the copper wires. Everything is going to digital. If you are on DSL, you are already on the new digital lines. It's only the copper phone line that is going away. Technically, they'll be Voice Over IP lines, rather than "land lines." But, it's more or less the same service you have had all along. I have already been converted. I have the same number I have had for 20+ years, and I use the same phone I have had for around 10 years. It just runs through my DSL Internet router now. The old copper line is dead.

[RobinA]

82. Do You Have Phone

when the power is out? In my area, not in the boondocks, copper wire is still the reliable phone service. Although I guess I’m a Luddite for wanting reliability. God knows the electric service has gone to hell.

[GoCubsGo]

86. No, but I don't have a battery back-up.

That is my only peeve with it. You have to buy your own battery. If I wasn't trying to relocate, I would probably spring for one. Meanwhile, I just try to make sure my cell phone stays charged in case of emergency. I clung to the copper wire phone until I had no choice, mainly because I didn't want to lose phone service in a power outage. I also hate using the damn cell phone, especially since the reception varies from room to room, which I don't get with the VOIP/landline. I want to be able to talk on the phone in my great room without all the static, which I can do with the VOIP phone, but not a cell phone.

[jcgoldie]

115. What about rural areas?

We still can't get DSL and we can't get broadband any other way than satellite. We arent even that far out. I suspect there's a lot more people in our shoes. Trust me I explore every option for broadband every few months.

[GoCubsGo]

118. I assume they will eventually replace the copper wire with fiberopitcs in rural aeas, as well.

[tblue37]

32. I am severely hearing impaired. I can't hear on a cellphone. I have a cheap

prepaid phone for calling when I am not at home, but only for calling to tell someone I am on my way, in case of an emergency, or other such things. My friends and family know not to talk back if I call from my cell phone, because I won't hear well enough to understand them.

[Blue_true]

44. The volume on cells can be adjusted up to ear splitting high. nt

[tblue37]

48. Not on my prepaid phone. It's as high as it can go already, and it's not enough. nt

[Blue_true]

53. Do you have a flip phone? Try a low level smartphone, not that much more expensive. nt

[tblue37]

54. No--it is a basic TracFone model. nt

[Blue_true]

63. I used TracPhone years ago because they were the first no contract plan.

Despised the service, went back to Verizon contract for several years before going with Virgin Mobile, never looked back. Virgin isn't cheap, but it gives me all the calling and data power that I need from a phone. You may want to look at Boost Mobile and Metro PCS, both should be better than TracPhone.

[GoCubsGo]

52. You will eventually be forced onto their digital telephone.

They'll provide you with a new wall jack and a router from which you can also get Internet access if you so choose. You should be able to use the phones you have now.

I'm like you. I have a pre-paid cell phone, and I don't want to give up the "land line." I was forced onto the digital line a year or so ago. It's fine, as long as the power doesn't go out, unless you want to buy a battery. In fact, it's a lot easier to block phone numbers, etc. But, there's no crappy reception like cell phones have.

[Duppers]

123. Then you don't have a speaker feature?

[Lee-Lee]

33. Already happening in some places around here- and it's a good thing

Landlines are a very maintenance intensive infrastructure, and demand for them is dropping making the maintenance of them cost more and more to serve fewer and fewer users. At the same time a lot of the more rural areas here in the US lack adequate broadband access. By allowing companies to stop maintaining costly and less used landline infrastructure they can use that money to expand broadband access instead.

Some of the more remote areas the switches are at capacity and the phone companies are not adding more- so if you want a landline you go on a waiting list. As the equipment ages and breaks it’s not getting replaced either. And new construction is not being offered a chance to hook in.

On top of that there have been some areas where storms have damaged the infrastructure and instead of replacing it they added better cell coverage and offered to switch the landline customers to a cellular connection. This actually made life better for them- before their internet was still limited to dial up, now they have 4g LTE available. The money spent adding that 4G cellar coverage was a much better investment than spending the same money to repair the old landline system.

[Renew Deal]

37. What does this really mean?

Probably that they aren’t installing new ones. Probably not repairing old ones either.

[Blue_true]

46. That sounds right. Why should they? The demand is not there and people should be better off

going wireless.

[RobinA]

83. I Guess It Depends

on you definition of “better off.” The service certainly isn’t better.

[NCTraveler]

41. Help Squad: More questions, comments and answers about end of AT&T copper landlines

http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/northbrook/news/ct-ppn-column-help-squad-tl-0921-20170914-story.html

[Wellstone ruled]

49. Billons of dollars in savings

per year in maintenance alone. Plus,billions in Copper Scrap . This is the purest form of Copper.

[still_one]

45. I have a land line through sonic.com. They OEM the AT&T copper here in the San Francisco Bay

area, and put their own equipment in the CO, and replace the AT&T equipment.

not sure where you are, but if you are in Northern California you might want to inquire with them:

https://www.sonic.com/

I know AT&T has been trying for years to end their landline service, and have been running into problems trying to do it.

If they are able to do it this time I am not sure if sonic, or other companies that also OEM AT&Ts copper will still be able to use it.

You might want to consider a backup plan in the eventuality that it happens


Since you make such few calls a month, I would suggest a pay as you go plan. They are usually quite inexpensive, and when you run out of your alloated minutes, you just recharge for additional minutes. No monthly fees

[MBS]

55. Yeah, they're good.

But they aren't available everywhere

[still_one]

56. I know, but there are others who do it also. Still it is worth checking a pay as you go cell phone

with the way things seem to be going

[brooklynite]

50. How much did you complain when they got rid of phones where operators placed all the calls?

Times change.


FWIW - it you have internet service, you can get affordable phone service.

[MineralMan]

66. I remember when they did that in my small home town.

1963 it was. A lot of people did complain, too. When we had the operators, they often knew where someone was if they didn't answer the phone, and would connect you to the phone where the person was. I remember my mother calling the doctor when my little brother broke his arm. The operator said, "He's on a house call at so-and-so's house. I'll ring that number." The doc got on the phone, and met my mom and brother at his office after he finished the house call.

Heck, I'm only 72 years old, and I remember operator-assisted calls. Our small town was one of the very last in California to get dial phone service.

[Saboburns]

57. I dont think land line phones are going anywhere for quite a while.

Maybe I'm the one who is confused here, because I don't know what Obsoleting landlines means in practical terms. But something tells me businesses, doctor's offices especially, are keeping their land-lines for a long time to come.

[Hortensis]

62. You'd think so, but remember how astonishingly fast

public telephones and emergency lines on highways just disappeared? Poof?!

A lot, lot sooner than the people who might need them all got cell phones, which has not happened yet.

[Lee-Lee]

77. Is already happening

Almost all larger businesses and most medium ones are VOIP now. Doctors offices especially. It’s far cheaper to have multiple lines on VOIP and far more flexible on setup, forwarding etc.

There are places here where no new construction will get the option of a landline and they are not taking new customers and only maintaining the infrastructure enough for the remaining customers. And as some part of it fail they are not fixing it.

[Kilgore]

132. Businesses were the first to drop landlines

For example, a business in our area can pay $75 a month for a traditional phone line or $70 a month for a broadband connection that can provide phone, internet and email. Hardly anyone has traditional lines anymore from just a cost standpoint.

[tammywammy]

136. I work at a Fortune 100 company.

Some business areas have already moved to VoIP and the one I'm at is moving to it in the next couple months. They're also removing voicemail with a few exceptions.

[csziggy]

68. Our landline is part of the package with our DSL and TV service

CenturyLink DSL, you have to have a landline, too. PrismTV basic costs the same amount as Sling and gives us local channels so we kept PrismTV.

We could put in a digital antenna but until we can put in one that will also get all the local PBS/educational channels it's not worth it. Those channels are too far away and across our ridge to get with a low cost digital antenna. We'd have to put one on our roof to get those signals and we're not ready to set that up just yet.

I would not be without our landline - after Irma cellphone did not work in our neighborhood since the closest tower had no power. With the landline I could call for help and to let relatives know we were OK - that is until the phones, internet and everything went out. Centurylink lost all service for several days - really bad news for everyone!

ETA - I get no cell signal in my house so I have to have a landline at home. I guess when we put up that digital antenna I need to put up a thing to receive a cell signal and boost it inside the house, too!

If I walk out my front door and to the top of the hill, I am line of sight to a cell tower and get a great signal. But in my ICF house with a metal roof, no signal.

[samnsara]

69. i live 10 miles up in the mtn we dont even get cell service here

...and my 93 yr old dad is never going to be able to use a cell phone. of course hes deaf so.....

[hunter]

70. From what I've researched it's mostly a behind-the-scenes changeover to an entirely digital network.

I used to have an "alarm line" internet connection which was two wires from my house direct to my ISP, leased out by the phone company who really didn't know or care about the internet. (They didn't seem to care about their own ISDN digital service either...) They certainly didn't offer their own brand of home internet service, nor did the local cable television company.

Our "Plain Old Telephone Service" (POTS) was two wires that went all the way from our house to the big telephone exchange downtown, through cable bundles as thick as my arm. That central office was connected to the AT&T system by giant microwave antennas on a high tower. I can see the tower from my house.

wikipedia

That's all been upgraded in the 21st century to a small utility cabinet in our neighborhood that's connected to the larger phone network by optical fiber. The microwave horns are still on the tower, but unused. They've been replaced by fiber too.

I still have internet service from a local provider but it's now DSL. POTS is converted to digital at the nearest phone company utility cabinet.

This upgrade seems similar to the upgrade from mechanical to electronic switching in the 1960's, when touch-tone phones were introduced.

Phone companies have already upgraded to digital switching in many places, but I'm sure AT&T reps are happy to bullshit people into buying unnecessary services any way they can.

I'm happy with my very basic DSL service and an inexpensive cell phone service plan, neither AT&T brands, although AT&T services the copper wire pair leading to my house and at least the first fiber past that.

We don't have any television service but "Standard" resolution Netflix, no cable, no satelite, no broadcast television.

[janx]

78. I suspect you are right.

And it somehow got translated by a rumor mill into "no more land lines."

Note the lack of source in the OP.

[dsc]

71. what will people with pace makers do?

My dad had one and each month he had to use a landline to call a number for it to be checked. I know it is required to be a landline as my dad and his wife only kept it for that. She got rid of the landline a month after he died.

[jberryhill]

72. I will not abide by this - I am sending an angry telegram to the FCC!

[janx]

75. Whaaaahh...!

[jberryhill]

81. Okay, scratch that. I'm sending a Telex

Er, uh, no... fuck... Get me a telegraph operator up in this here!

[ellie]

76. I have a landline

for work. I work from home.

[LeftInTX]

88. I think most businesses are landlines

Just imagine trying to contact a large corporation whose phone system consists of a bunch cellphones?

I volunteer at a Master Gardener Hotline at our local County Extension. We have a receptionist who transfers the call to whoever is sitting at the Hotline. That person can be eenie-meenie-minie-mo, but there is just one phone number involved.
I can't imagine this working with a bunch of random cell phone numbers.

[fescuerescue]

94. Most business are VOIP

And run a VOIP trunk to their provider such as AT&T or verizon etc.

[LeftInTX]

116. You're right..

We have our home phone service with Time Warner. (Have had it for 15 years) It just seems like a landline because it isn't in a cell phone. I'm sure businesses have the same type of setup.

[TygrBright]

85. Given how terrible the reception is on every model cell phone I've tried...

...this will more or less limit my communications to email after 2020.

Which is not a good prospect.

It's possible that if/when I can afford deaf aids that will change, but who can afford deaf aids anymore?

wearily,
Bright

[Nay]

133. Heck, I have no hearing problems and even I have trouble hearing on cell phones. The

sound quality absolutely sucks. I hate them. But what can you do? We still have our land line for that reason -- better sound, plus it's our main number for docs, work, social orgs, etc. We only give out our cellphone #s to family and close friends.

[FuzzyRabbit]

89. Jodymarie, I'm with you. I prefer my old landline phone service.

Here is why I prefer it:

1 - The phone always works. I had landline phones from when I was a kid until 2017, 71 years. Guess what? Even during power outages lasting days, the phone always worked.

How often do you have to recharge your cell phone battery? How do you make a call when your phone battery is dead?

2 - Old landline phones, like my 70 year old rotary phone, have MUCH better sound quality than the best cell phones. And this was with 70+ year old copper wiring to the house.

Digital sound quality is much better than it used to be, but it is still not as clear as a land line and my old Western Electric 302 phone.

3 - Old landline phones are indestructible. They last for decades, like my old 70 year old rotary phone.

Nearly everyone I know has to replace their cell phone every year or two, either because it breaks or because the electronics malfunction.

[MBS]

90. + 100

Agreed!
I was once in a major earthquake, and my landline service kept going for 2 days even after the power went out.
My high-tech son hangs onto his grandparents' old landline phone (the kind you rented, which were made to be indestructible so that they could be re-rented) by PREFERENCE.

[fescuerescue]

93. I doubt if it happens by 2020, but it's definitely on the way.

Because landlines are heavily regulated, it'll probably take till 2030 before the last ones are turned off.

The local telco's have to get approval from the local regulatory agencies before turning down, and it's not just one agency, it's hundreds. Otherwise they would have already done it.

And it's not so much the cost of the maintaining the copper in the ground, it's maintaining the switching and termination equipment.

[ooky]

96. Go ahead and get yourself a cheap cell phone while you still have your land line, and

get used to using it. You will probably end up getting rid of the landline yourself even before they go obsolete.

[kimbutgar]

101. I still have my landline and a cell phone number in my own home.

I also kept the landline in the house I grew up in also. It costs me about $35 a month. Just couldn’t let my old family number go. I did give up my phone line from my teenage day when my mother passed away but kept her number. I have an answering machine on it and have got calls from old family friends.

[drray23]

104. we have cellphones but also keep a landline

In our neck of the woods, we are far enough from cell towers that the reception is sometimes very bad. We also do not have cable service. When the weather is bad, its critical to be able to use the landline to contact people outside.

Often, I have to call in the landline from my cellphone for my wife to be able to hear me if I am in a city with good cell coverage and she is sitting at home with bad cell coverage.

[Kaleva]

105. My landline phone co. is also my internet provider.

[Kaleva]

106. I spend $118 a month on 1 landline, 2 cell phones and high speed internet.

[Raine]

107. I have both cell phone and landline

landlines are more secure for business that you want to keep private. I hope some company will keep landlines going.

[crazycatlady]

111. i never had a landline in my name

I last had one when I lived with my parents.

I wouldn't (by choice) move somewhere with no cell service. I would expect that most people in my generation (1980 baby) would say the same.

[echler]

113. More Consolidation of Control over Communication

Cell phones are much easier to spy on and hack.

[dembotoz]

117. Death of pots is overrated

They will still be around....
Expensive perhaps but available.

[fescuerescue]

120. Many people think they have landlines, but really don't

If you buy your landline from cable company, its not really a landline. It's voip. The only "landline" portion is that in your home between your phone and the cable modem.

Today, the choice isn't between landline and cellphone. It's between landline, simulated landline (with a cable modem voip adapter), native voip, cell phone and sat phone. Virtually all large corporations have already moved to native voip, even though they own tens of thousands of desk phones that resemble landline phones.

POTS or landlines will be phased out and most folks won't even notice. Where a wired connection is required, it'll just be replaced with a VOIP adapter and you can keep using a traditional telephone.

[Liberty Belle]

127. In a power outage my Cox VOIP phone didn't work but friends with ATT land lines could make calls.

This can be life or death in our area prone to wildfires and earthquakes.

[fescuerescue]

135. That's normal

Old style landlines are powered by the central office. They have a battery rooms, with batteries the size of washing machines, which are backed up by generators. In large cities those are actually jet turbine generators. They generally keep about a week of fuel on hand in case of extended power outages.

With pretty much any other calling technology, battery backup isn't centralized. It's up to you to provide battery backup.

While the technology is ancient, it's amazingly redundant. Nonetheless, it days are quite definitely numbered.

[Liberty Belle]

126. This will kill people in my area.

Lots of our rural towns here don't have reliable cell service, or no cell service at all, and when there are wildfires that are common here, people can't call for help or get reverse 911 calls without their land lines. Yet ATT wants to take away their only phones. ATT is lying to the legislators claiming areas are covered with cell service when they aren't.

Our local planning chairs are livid but the legislators take money from ATT and are selling their souls and their constituents' safety down the river.

I know another man who had a prized llama bitten by a rattlesnake. His ATT line was down for repair that way, he couldn't get cell service, had no vehicle and his llama died. What if that had been a child?

Also, when we had a big power failure here that knocked out power in three states, my cell phone went haywire and I couldn't call anyone locally (oddly I could call out of state). My COX cable line didn't work either but people with ATT land lines could make calls.

Another point: some studies link cell phone usage to brain cancers. I prefer to use my land line whenever possible for that reason among others. I also want a phone in emergencies that I'm certain I can find, and that isn't reliant on the phone being charged up. Ever forget to charge your phone? What if you had an emergency then? Land lines should be a right and should never be taken away.

I am a news editior, and have heard many more stories, and have also personally found myself without cell service on many of our backcountry roads. Another issue: Close to the border, cell phone calls get picked up by Mexican cell towers and you get a nasty surprise with bills for international calls. This happened to me when I visited a friend who lived 100 yards from the border on the US side. I've since talked to lots of border residents who never use their cells at home because of this problem; they rely on land lines to keep their bills manageable.

[no_hypocrisy]

130. Is the maintenance of cyberoptic lines (e.g., FIOS) cost more than the profits of monthly service?