Death knell for landlines - RANT

[ultrarunner]

I did bring in the Electric company into the discussion and probably was not the best example... all my Telecom Pioneer friends have passed... every last one of them... a few started driving Model A Service pickups... that how far back they went...

I'm waiting for the day when the phone company comes to pickup all the stuff they have labeled property for phone company... do not remove.

My older homes and apartments are like an archaeological did.... going back to the 1920's with cotton cover phone lines and some are still in use.

My State even passed a law making landlords responsible for all inside wire... which caused a lot of issues because not that long ago tenants would pull up carpet and run wire to all corners of the home.

I have had single 1200 square feet homes with 5 separate telephone lines back in the 1980's.... each kid had their own line plus a house line.

I still have rotary phones in use....

 

[Ford850]

That is a ridiculous commitment time from Frontier. Our tickets are worked within 24 hours. I would call the PUC and make a formal complaint.

I thought so, then realized this is their normal now. After my call, I remembered my dad had issues with his line a couple months ago. It was full of static, and completely unusable. His ticket was for 4 or 5 days I think. I 'argued' with my dad, insisting he must have told them there was "static on the line" and that they obviously thought it was still usable. There was no way, I thought, they would leave a customer hanging for 4 or 5 days without service (other than major storm damage etc). He insisted he told them he was without a usable phone, and being 87 years old he was concerned, but 4 or 5 days was the best they could do.

 

[Ford850]

Give Obihai and Google voice a try! it is totally free for the U.S. Uses your old phones, just needs an Ethernet feed.
Dave

This has my attention. The Obi200 has excellent reviews.

 

[WM75Guy]

That is a ridiculous commitment time from Frontier. Our tickets are worked within 24 hours. I would call the PUC and make a formal complaint.

Seven days is now the standard response for CenturyLink for telephone or DSL trouble. They have cut the number of local service techs since they bought out Embark. On my last DSL outage the tech showed up and it took 5 minutes to fix. My port had been turned off. One phone call by the tech and it was back on. I asked if the support person could have done that when I called and he said they should have done it.

I have made complaints to the Texas PUC and they are worthless. I get a form letter a month latter stating they checked with CenturyLink. There were unavoidable delays such as weather (in Texas?), it is fixed now, and don't bother us again. They also remind me they have no jurisdiction over Internet, only telephone service.

CenturyLink has moved their call center to the Philippines so language is now an issue when you call. If you ask for a representative in the USA they will transfer you. They have a troubleshooting script that they go through every time you call regardless of your problem. My DSL splits first thing after the demarc with a dedicated line to the modem. I have the modem/router in bridge mode and use my own router. They cannot understand that and want me to unplug all my phones. Next is to hard reset the modem so I lose all my settings. I now use their automated system to put in a trouble ticket.

They also tell you if they come out and the trouble is on my side they will charge me $85 for the service call unless I pay the monthly fee for inside wiring coverage. When I tell them I have 25 Cat 5E data and phone drops and OnQ modular telecom panels they refuse to cover it. They only cover "standard" wiring. So far the charge has never been an issue.

 

[ultrarunner]

Ironic the PUC regulates the only service going the way of the Dinosaur...

 

[California]

Ironic the PUC regulates the only service going the way of the Dinosaur...

Not ironic, rather I think this reflects the raw lobbying power of the modern multinational corporations to get free of any control.

By restating what they provide as an entertainment service, ie TV, then VOIP and DSL tacked on as options, they evade the concept that phone service is a government-supported essential service. "That was Socialism and must be stamped out" say the well fed lobbyists to the legislators who they keep well fed.

Now the multinationals answer to no one.

But I think discussing this should be a new thread in Friendly Politics - not here!

 

[ultrarunner]

My friend was on the PUC for Deaf Communication Services... that extra charge on each phone bill...

He started calling the board Leisure World... lot of talk with almost no action.

In a lot of ways the idea of not having a phone is very appealing... more telemarketers than calls I want for starters.

Today... Mom's granddaughter is 12... she wanted very much to wish her Happy Birthday and drop off a gift.

They have one landline and 4 cells in the family... the 12 year old doesn't have phone.

You would think with 5 phones Grandma would be able to reach someone???

She said it best... it's not the phones... it's the people... there was a time when people actually answered the phone they were paying for...

I guess one of two things will happen... the landline will simply fade away or it will become so expensive people will cancel...

It's $35 a month for bare bones service before a single call is made... seems every alphabet agency has found a way to add charges to the phone bill... then there are the taxes...

You may be right... too political.

 

[dmccarty]

....
I guess one of two things will happen... the landline will simply fade away or it will become so expensive people will cancel...

It's $35 a month for bare bones service before a single call is made... seems every alphabet agency has found a way to add charges to the phone bill... then there are the taxes...

You may be right... too political.

The land line companies need to realize they are Internet providers not phone service providers. The land line phone is technology from the past that has been surpassed by modern technology and if the phone companies don't wish to become a thing of the past, they need to focus on providing high speed Internet. Otherwise they will be history.

I read an interview of the owner of one of the large cable companies years ago. He fully understands that the future of cable is NOT video but as an Internet service provider.

Later,
Dan

 

[k0ua]

The land line companies need to realize they are Internet providers not phone service providers. The land line phone is technology from the past that has been surpassed by modern technology and if the phone companies don't wish to become a thing of the past, they need to focus on providing high speed Internet. Otherwise they will be history.

I read an interview of the owner of one of the large cable companies years ago. He fully understands that the future of cable is NOT video but as an Internet service provider.

Later,
Dan

Dan, I know that the company I recently worked for was 100% focused on their Internet/data transport business not the landline business. Trust me they are well aware of the monthly decreasing subscriber counts in the landline end of the business.

 

[ultrarunner]

When the switch happens will I need to buy new phones or will my rotary phones be OK?