On Thursday, April 24, 2014 6:17:15 PM UTC-4, Robert Green wrote:
"CRNG" wrote in message



stuff snipped



I live in a rural area and around here we consider a dial-tone to be a

miracle. In this state the utilities own the Public Utilities

Commission.



It's that way in almost every state. Here in the DC area Verizon is

actively working to convert all their dial tone/copper wire customers to

FIOS. I've told them repeatedly I don't want a phone line that can't

support a dial up modem, that isn't regulated by the public service

commission, that runs out of battery power in an emergency and that depends

on the stability of the Verizon computer network.



http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/lo...Say-They-Felt-

Pressured-Into-Fios-235098041.html



http://tinyurl.com/n3xgwvp



I'm with you - the sound of a dial tone is a miracle. When all the

cellphones went out in the DC area on 9/11, the landlines kept on truckin'.

I assume that the VOIP service will crash pretty much the same way when

everyone gets on their phone in an emergency all at the same time. It's

really a public safety issue but since the PSC has been "captured" by the

companies they regulate they don't care. They're hastening the destruction

of the copper phone network that has demonstrated far greater overall

reliability than any of its replacement technologies. That's progress, I

guess. )-:



One good thing about being one of the last of the dinosaur dial-up guys is

that with the exodus of subscribers from copper phone lines, there's hardly

*ever* any crosstalk on the lines these says. The tech told me I had the

only dial tone on a 50 pair trunk cable. It's lonely at the top (and

bottom).



FWIW, the Feds probably want everyone to switch to VOIP so they can more

easily monitor everyone's phone conversations.



Give me that old time religion, give me that old time religion, give me that

old time religion, it's good enough for me!



--

Bobby G.

Most of your calls end up on voip before they reach the other end anyway. You think the telcoms are still multiplexing over copper? Think again.