[Discuss] Verizon phasing out copper

[jack at coats.org (Jack Coats)]

Alarm systems that use 'dark copper' or other dedicated circuits might have
an issue.  But I don't know how much that is done anymore anyway.

><> ... Jack
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On Tue, Apr 30, 2013 at 9:29 PM, Tom Metro <tmetro+blu at gmail.com> wrote:

> Back when Verizon first rolled out FIOS, the recommendation was that you
> should ask them to leave your copper wiring in place, as it provided a
> few advantages: 1. Verizon was legally obligated to lease access to that
> copper to their competitors, so you could purchase local phone service
> from someone else; and 2. it allowed you to receive battery power from
> the central office to keep your phones running in a power outage.
>
> Today I received a letter from Verizon regarding my residence in Newton
> saying "Verizon is replacing telephone wires and removing obsolete
> equipment to ensure long-term service reliability for our customers. To
> avoid future service interruptions we'll need to move your telephone
> service to our new fiber network. This will be done at no charge to you
> and you will keep the same voice service at the exact same price you're
> paying now."
>
> It seems unlikely they are still motivated by desire to escape sharing
> their copper infrastructure with their competitors. Are there any
> companies left that sell residential local phone service that haven't
> moved on to VoIP? If anything, installing fiber service will only lessen
> barriers to switching to a VoIP competitor.
>
> So the old advice seem to be largely obsolete. (Regarding battery power,
> the ONT has a battery that lasts, I think, 8 hours. If you use a
> cordless phone, and even if you have the base plugged into a UPS (or
> have a rare model with a built-in battery), your phone will likely die
> in less than 8 hours. So practically speaking you aren't really any
> worse off.)
>
> I'd be curious to know what it is costing them to maintain their copper
> plant. It must be a money sink, as they can't have high hopes of
> converting a lot of these copper customers into subscribers of Internet,
> TV, and other higher priced services. (Though undoubtedly some will.)
> Most people still using copper are doing so specifically because they
> don't want, or have no interest in, the other services Verizon offers,
> so slightly reducing the barriers isn't going to turn them into customers.
>
> In fact, you have to wonder how many people faced with setting an
> appointment to have this upgrade performed will say, "Landline? We still
> have one of those? Lets just cancel it."
>
> Anyone else received such a letter? Other than if you're still using
> DSL, any reason to hold on to copper?
>
>  -Tom
>
> --
> Tom Metro
> Venture Logic, Newton, MA, USA
> "Enterprise solutions through open source."
> Professional Profile: http://tmetro.venturelogic.com/
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