The Dismantling of POTS: Bold Move Or Grave Error? 582
New submitter TheRealHocusLocus writes "The FCC is drafting rules to formalize the process of transition of 'last-mile' subscriber circuits to digital IP-based data streams. The move is lauded by AT&T Chairman Tom Wheeler who claims that significant resources are spent to maintain 'legacy' POTS service, though some 100 million still use it. POTS, or 'Plain Old Telephone Service,' is the analog standard that allows the use of simple unpowered phone devices on the wire, with the phone company supplying ring and talk voltage. I cannot fault progress, in fact I'm part of the problem: I gave up my dial tone a couple years ago because I needed cell and could not afford to keep both. But what concerns me is, are we poised to dismantle systems that are capable of standing alone to keep communities and regions 'in-touch' with each other, in favor of systems that rely on centralized (and distant) points of failure? Despite its analog limitations POTS switches have enforced the use of hard-coded local exchanges and equipment that will faithfully complete local calls even if its network connections are down. But do these IP phones deliver the same promise? For that matter, is any single local cell tower isolated from its parent network of use to anyone at all? I have had a difficult time finding answers to this question, and would love savvy Slashdot folks to weigh in: In a disaster that isolates the community from outside or partitions the country's connectivity — aside from local Plain Old Telephone Service, how many IP and cell phones would continue to function?"
POTS... (Score:5, Informative)
Isn't as plain or old as you make it out to be. I'm about 2 miles from my CO but my phone line terminates in a climate controlled cabinet about 1,000ft from my house. That's the end of the line for my pair where the line is powered, digitized and bridged to fiber for the haul back to the CO.
Even without that the addition of DSL about 2 decades ago added a lot of complexity to the system with DSLAMs and other digital equipment. Much of that digital stuff was spliced in between the switch and CPE on the CO or line side, but it was still there.
The COs I've been in also don't use the card coded switches you seem to be talking to; they use gigantic digital affairs that are all basically computers and handle not only the line pair for voice, but DST, T and D trunks, interoffice signaling and such.
The reason this stuff is all so resilient is the power supply. Nothing in the CO runs on wall voltage; it's all -48vDC and runs from a battery bank the size of a small house. The batteries are constantly charged from mains at the rate of their depletion by the equipment. In case of power failure where they batteries are being drawn down a generator auto-starts and switches from mains to local power to re-charge the batteries. Note that in this setup the load equipment is never switched from one power source to another (a major single-point of failure).
That said... Im not against reforming or eliminate the last vestiges of POTS.Less that 1/3 of the population HAS it and I'd bet even less than that actually use it. By that I mean that I think less than 1/10th of the US population has a telephone in their house that will work solely from CO power on the line pair without a wall wart.
Get an Amateur Radio license (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Cell phoe reliability (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Wrong Identification in Summary (Score:5, Informative)
No, not At&T chairman, nor even a former At&T chairman. Instead is the former President and CEO of the National Cable Television Association (NCTA) and former President and CEO of the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association (CTIA). Head of both the cable and cell phone industry lobbying groups! What's not to love?
As someone who uses POTS/VOIP and Cell (Score:4, Informative)
In case of incident (Natural / man made). Here in Seattle (area), several years ago we had a large wind storm that took out most of the power in the entire region. Many areas didn't have power for over a week. Cell phone - towers died after about three days. That's right: The TOWERS failed. Also, you couldn't get gasoline; no power at the pumps (Read local generators - at homes - started giving out).
In some areas of Seattle, people have their choice of which ISP they like (DSL, Cable, fiber optic, wireless) which is all fine and good for a VOIP carrier. Ask any of the phone companies what will happen when the power goes out? You can't call... 911, the power company, anyone for any emergency service, much less a call such as "I'm alive and okay", or "need food, shelter" (in case of some emergency).
I have family in north eastern WA. Where they are at, there is not viable alternative to dial-up. No VOIP, and spotty cell phone availability.
Cell phones... great sound unless you are in a dead area (there are a lot more of these than the phone company's are willing to admit); or as noted the power is out for an extended time.
Just because it (POTS) isn't as profitable as cell - or as well regulated, doesn't men it should be dismantled.
Not POTS at all (Score:3, Informative)
Other than that the 'POTS' system stays as it currently is. :)
I know, reading and comprehension is so fucking hard isn't it?
Other than: the price controls that apply to POTS will no longer apply, the uptime requirements that apply to POTS will no longer apply, the universal service requirements that apply to POTS will no longer apply, etc.
That's what the telcos said in Massachusetts http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Verizon-Working-Hard-to-Gut-Massachusetts-Consumer-Protections-126180 [dslreports.com], and in New York http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/NY-PSC-Takes-Closer-Look-at-Verizons-Killing-of-Copper-124315 [dslreports.com] and everywhere else when they've asked for "waivers" to do trial changeovers away from POTS.
Apparently reading IS fraking hard.
Re:Not that useful anyways (Score:5, Informative)
Last year when a major snowstorm that knocked out power for over a week (12 days to be exact), cell service was out after a day, but landlines stayed on the entire time.
Re:Cell phones are better in a disaster (Score:4, Informative)
That data is skewed due to only counting incidents where the blackout itself was the headline. Sandy would be an example where wind and rain took out the power but the other damage was the headliner.
Re:I LOVE phones, so Cap'n Crunchably delicious (Score:3, Informative)
To add, because it's been years...
The CSR's tool for basic troubleshooting (not the billing system) will say exactly what HLR and site the IMSI is registered on. So a HLR will be something like some ID number like NYCBRKLN-004, the NYCBRKLN is the HLR or "CO" in terms of POTS. the -004 part is the cell site.
It's important to state that a HLR will only have local subscribers. The roaming HLR will have all the visiting IMSI's, even if these are two miles apart. So a NYCBRKLN may serve all of Brooklyn or it might only serve the customers in the 718 area code (LNP exception...)
When you factor in LNP (Local number portability) you can only port your number to other carriers who are on the same local exchange. So if your phone number was 7181234567, and you want to port to another carrier, that other carrier will port your number, overwriting a number they own in the HLR serving the same NPA-NXX, so you may be calling 7181234567 but it's actually 7181124599 in the HLR.
This is why you can't port your NYC number if you live in LA, because there are no HLR's serving that NPA-NXX. When you use your NYC number in LA, it's using the roaming HLR of whatever carrier you're connected to. If (going back to the previous question) the home HLR is disabled then only you will have connectivity problems, but nobody else around you will. If you want to port your number, you need to be on a carrier and cell site that serves that area. Now, there are work arounds, like simply having the carrier use another NYC home HLR other than one serving LA, but you will be billed as though you are in NYC still, including NYC taxes.
So again back to the original topic and follow up questions, If they remove POTS, nothing will happen. Wireless carriers have been exclusively using their own data networks since around 2005 to terminate calls. When you make a Cell phone to POTS or POTS to cell phone call, this call is initiated at the switch (MSC) may physically be at the HLR, or it may be at a CO.
A lot of this information is more or less correct at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network_switching_subsystem
Re:Communication isn't stupid. Telephones are. (Score:3, Informative)
POTS works when the power goes out. It uses power supplied from the central office. I don't have to resort to extraordinary measures to keep it working when the lights go off. When the remnants of Hurricane Ike hit us in Cincinnati, my lights were off for days. But my POTS line kept working. We were without service for a while a day or two after the storm hit, when the batteries in the LEC's remote terminal ran down. But Cincinnati Bell parked a generator outside it and the service came back up.
The entire family have mobile phones, but I'll keep my POTS line until they pry it from my cold, dead fingers. I don't use any cordless phones. I keep a couple of Western Electric phones in service, including 2500-series touch-tone and 500-series rotary-dial sets. They were designed for 40-year service life, and will continue to work long after the newer phones with their needless features have died.
On top of that, I'm a ham radio operator. Our stuff keeps working when the infrastructure fails. For intrafamilial communication we have FRS/GMRS rigs that the nonlicensed members of the family know how to use.