 
Jerm
join:2000-04-10
Richland, WA | pots can die die die I don't care. VOIP is the future. | |
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Quake110
join:2003-12-20
Ottawa, ON
 ·Velcom
| Re: pots can die die die In Canada, I don't feel the same way. Pots are the most reliable, I don't even trust the cable companies because the battery in the devices will last a few hours at most.
Imagine if I had VoIP During the big East American-Canadian blackout?... We will be cut off. Only the pots stayed working. | |
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| | Shoreline
Your Freedom Fries Are Stale
join:2003-09-29
Santa Clara, CA
| Re: pots can die die die It's a bit of a paradox, Joe consumer's options are
VOIP is good because it isn't POTS.
POTS still works when the power is cut.
VOIP does not work because it likely needs a router/network or working transmitter which goes with the power.
POTS has an advantage, but almost everyone nowadays with that uses a phone system that will only work when the power is on. Better have backup phone like I do.
--
Moore/Alexander 2008
Conservatives love religious-like aphorisms so here's one: "Freedom isn't free. It's Made in China." | |
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| | | Smith6612
Premium
join:2008-02-01
united state
·Verizon Online DSL
·FrontierNet Intern..
 ·Dish Network
| Re: pots can die die die I have a very old 900MHz cordless phone that if the base unit has a battery in it, will let the unit run for a while. The phone itself, however won't charge, which saves the battery tremendously. My 2.4GHz device, however doesn't have this ability. Otherwise, I'm a POTS user and prefer POTS over VoIP for a couple reasons. | |
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| | | | Shoreline
Your Freedom Fries Are Stale
join:2003-09-29
Santa Clara, CA | Re: pots can die die die I haven't ever known a person to change the battery in their alarm clocks that they use every morning, never mind their phone.
We're all just a lazy bunch.  | |
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anonycoward
@sbcglobal.net
| said by Shoreline  :POTS still works when the power is cut. This is certainly not true. When the RT loses power, so does the POTS. My cell-phone is far more reliable in power outages with its ability to pick up multiple towers. | |
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Quake110
join:2003-12-20
Ottawa, ON
·Velcom
| Re: pots can die die die said by anonycoward :said by Shoreline :POTS still works when the power is cut. This is certainly not true. When the RT loses power, so does the POTS. My cell-phone is far more reliable in power outages with its ability to pick up multiple towers. What will you do if your cell-phone battery was already low on power and there was an outage that lasted for hours?
I can confirmed during the major blackout that lasted hours, even a day, the POTS stayed strong. People were relying on them to contact others. So for me, POTS (with a regular phone) has the best reliability. | |
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| | | | | wentlanc
You Can't Fix Dumb..
join:2003-07-30
Maineville, OH
| Re: pots can die die die Charge it from your car? I know, it all seems too simple.
And who are you calling all this time while the power is out? Let people know you are safe. I'm sure there are more important things to do than jabber on the phone during a disaster.
cw | |
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CylonRed
Premium,MVM
join:2000-07-06
Bloom County | Re: pots can die die die I would use it for emergencies - police, fire, police when the power is out. | |
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| | | | sbcretired
join:2006-01-07
Scottville, MI
| said by anonycoward :said by Shoreline :POTS still works when the power is cut. This is certainly not true. When the RT loses power, so does the POTS. My cell-phone is far more reliable in power outages with its ability to pick up multiple towers. Well, the RT's have battery back-up, monitored by digital link 24/7 and technicians that run generators out to the RT's (in ATT Midwest anyway) | |
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| | NOCMan
Verizon Fios User
Premium
join:2004-09-30
Flower Mound, TX | I have to agree. However, line powered VOIP should be what the telephone companies move to. They're ignoring it completely though.
Perhaps if they got in touch with pricing. 30 dollars a month is plenty for a rarely used line. | |
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| | | FAQFixer
Premium
join:2004-06-28
Powder Springs, GA
| said by NOCMan :I have to agree. However, line powered VOIP should be what the telephone companies move to. They're ignoring it completely though. That's because it is a stupid idea peddled by charlatans. | |
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CylonRed
Premium,MVM
join:2000-07-06
Bloom County
·Speakeasy
| said by Quake110 :In Canada, I don't feel the same way. Pots are the most reliable, I don't even trust the cable companies because the battery in the devices will last a few hours at most. Imagine if I had VoIP During the big East American-Canadian blackout?... We will be cut off. Only the pots stayed working. Same here - I use pots nearly every day if not multiple times a day if needed. With 2 kids and a wife - I want the phone working when the power goes out without worrying about batteries.
Cell phone can really suck for long distance calls and even local ones can be pretty crappy not to mention having to keep up with battery charging. | |
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| 
insomniac84
join:2002-01-03
Schererville, IN
| said by Jerm :I don't care. VOIP is the future. Say goodbye to unlimited plans when ISPs successfully charge you based on usage. And once there it is only a matter of time before they lock up ports and charge to use certain ones and charge more for bandwidth on certain ports. If they can get away with per megabyte fees, they easily can get away with charging different rates based on the kinds of traffic. | |
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Madness
Wish I Knew
join:2000-01-05
Quincy, MA
·Verizon Online DSL
| Re: pots can die die die That's been my major pet peeve about POTS. My cheapie PAYG cellphone includes call waiting, ID & voicemail as part of the basic service. Why should it cost about an extra ~$12-15 or so to add those to a basic POTS line (or require a more premium package)?
Another peeve was when the VZ started this "minimum long-distance usage" charge for their LD service. Getting charged $2 (later $4) whether or not I made that amount in calls. That's largely what made me go to DSL dry-loop.
Not to say that cellphones are the end-all solution, either. My peeve about a lot of them is very short battery life (even in standby). If there was an emergency & my phone was dead, there's a payphone (remember them?) directly across the street from my house. As long as myself or anyone else here was able-bodied, we could make the call from there. | |
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|
POTS4Life
@verizon.net
| said by Jerm :I don't care. VOIP is the future. Yeah, until that day you need an ambulance.
E911, Voip, Cellular 911 does not work.
Don't wait until its too late to find out.
POTS is worth every penny. | |
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Bobcat
Verizon blows, Cablevision sucks
Premium
join:2001-02-04
Bedminster, NJ | I love my POTS It's cheaper than the cable company's voice service. | |
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| rob316
join:2005-10-17
Carteret, NJ | Re: I love my POTS Funny I just switched back to Verizon landline and DSL, I use to have Comcast but there HD lineup for tv was horrible. So i took the Verizon package of DTV, DSL and landline. I save around 70 bucks a month now. | |
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Bobcat
Verizon blows, Cablevision sucks
Premium
join:2001-02-04
Bedminster, NJ
·Verizon Online DSL
edit:
July 26th, @05:18PM
| Re: I love my POTS My POTS bill is $18.44 per month including all taxes. Cable would cost $29.95 per month (actually, it would be a lot more than that, because the cable company would make me pay for other services that I don't want, like their Internet service and digital cable boxes). | |
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Ikyuao
debian linux power
join:2007-02-26
Wichita, KS | Re: I love my POTS What which one you're on? Like cox, comcast, RCN and other cable name band company. | |
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Bobcat
Verizon blows, Cablevision sucks
Premium
join:2001-02-04
Bedminster, NJ
edit:
July 26th, @08:12PM
| Re: I love my POTS See the text near my username and avatar? I have Cablevision. They're much more expensive than Verizon. | |
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KrK
Heavy Artillery For The Little Guy
Premium
join:2000-01-17
Tulsa, OK
 ·Cox HSI
·AT&T Southwest
edit:
July 22nd, @05:45PM
| They still don't get it.... The reason Landlines are dying enmasse is because the Telco's don't or won't price them competitively given the new market paradigm.
Personally, I'd love to have a plain old POTS line--- If the price wasn't so high. POTS lines, with all the fees and junk tacked on, are around $35 a month here... ie Base rate for no calling features (just dial tone) is around $20. So approx. $10-$15 of that price is fees, surcharges, USF, etc etc but still....
Give people a POTS line for $10 a month (incl. Caller ID, yadda, yadda, yadda) + fees and I think they'd do a lot better.
--
"Regulatory capitalism is when companies invest in lawyers, lobbyists, and politicians, instead of plant, people, and customer service." - former FCC Chairman William Kennard (A real FCC Chairman, unlike the current Corporate Spokesperson in the job!) | |
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| jarthur31
join:2006-04-14
Carlsbad, NM | Re: They still don't get it.... Heck, $30/month for all those extras would be good enough for me as long as you can sign a contract that doesn't increase that price (including those extra bogus fees) for a year or two. | |
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| | NOCMan
Verizon Fios User
Premium
join:2004-09-30
Flower Mound, TX
| Re: They still don't get it.... Good for you. Base line here costs 29 ish.. after taxes and fees/unfees it was nearly 60. 3.95 for touch tone dialing, 4.95 for keeping me out of the phone book.
It's crap.. Just switched it to Vonage so the security system can still dial out.
What sucks is that I could get a 30 dollar a month Cell system for the security, but they will not monitor fire alarms anymore if I went that way. It's POTS or VOIP..
I told them that my phone lines come in where the power is and if lightning struck the house and fried the line out, how's it going to dial..
sheesh | |
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old_dawg
"I Know Noting..."
join:2001-09-22
Westminster, MD
| Re: They still don't get it.... said by NOCMan :It's crap.. Just switched it to Vonage so the security system can still dial out. I told them that my phone lines come in where the power is and if lightning struck the house and fried the line out, how's it going to dial.. sheesh Doesn't Vonage rely on someone else's (ie, ISP) physical plant for your VOIP?. After many years in outside plant, I'll betcha paychecks that all things considered, telco service drop and plant is better isolated to protect
you from a lightning strike than cable plant.
--
"Our network engineers are aware of the problem..." | |
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bobjohnson
join:2007-02-03
Titusville, FL
 ·Sprint Mobile Broa..
·RoadRunner Cable
 ·Vonage
| Re: They still don't get it.... said by old_dawg :said by NOCMan :It's crap.. Just switched it to Vonage so the security system can still dial out. I told them that my phone lines come in where the power is and if lightning struck the house and fried the line out, how's it going to dial.. sheesh Doesn't Vonage rely on someone else's (ie, ISP) physical plant for your VOIP?. After many years in outside plant, I'll betcha paychecks that all things considered, telco service drop and plant is better isolated to protect you from a lightning strike than cable plant. with cable you are more likely to see an outage from the headend than you would with POTS bc of lightning, but at the drop... that is a whole other situation... even here in the lightning capital of the world, they (att, embarq) only ground 2 out of every 5 nid's and the other 3 homes get fried wires occasionally.. the problem with voip is the equipment usually is what gets fried during lightning around here...
--
Any unauthorized copying or distribution of the opinion above constitutes stupidity and you should probably be punished
| |
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| | | | | bogey780
join:2004-03-19
Covington, LA
| Re: They still don't get it.... 'even here in the lightning capital of the world, they (att, embarq) only ground 2 out of every 5 nid's and the other 3 homes get fried wires occasionally...'
I doubt it. Every NID is required to have a grounded protector going back to a power ground, power ground rod, ground bar in meter pan, or the meter pan itself.
If it's not grounded then AT&T has to send a tech out to ground it. That's why they have yellow tags telling the customer to call if it's not attached. | |
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bobjohnson
join:2007-02-03
Titusville, FL | Re: They still don't get it.... I don't doubt it.. ive seen it many times before on a daily basis... they don't ground like they should and most ppl switch to digital phone when they find out that replacing a phone line is $75 without the service plan | |
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| | | | | | | bogey780
join:2004-03-19
Covington, LA | Re: They still don't get it.... What I'm saying is what you're saying is mostly nonsense. Good luck with that digital phone system working of a cable modem that's grounded with braided 14ga wire to a water pipe. | |
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Broken Back
Premium
join:2002-05-19
Dallas, TX | My don't you get a cellular uplink for your alarm and drop LL>
--
Over The Hill | |
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| | | | moonpuppy
join:2000-08-21
Glen Burnie, MD
·Verizon Online DSL
| Re: They still don't get it.... said by Broken Back :My don't you get a cellular uplink for your alarm and drop LL> said by NOCMan :It's crap.. Just switched it to Vonage so the security system can still dial out. What sucks is that I could get a 30 dollar a month Cell system for the security, but they will not monitor fire alarms anymore if I went that way. It's POTS or VOIP.. | |
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| EPS
join:2008-02-13
Hingham, MA | In some places, POTS is still regulated, which makes pricing competitively difficult. | |
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See 6 replies to this post |
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meh37
@verizon.net
| Totally. Does it cost $7 to provide CallerID? No... more like 7 cents (less actually). Outrageously priced features and "taxes" and "fees" that are little more than robbery (with the assistance of govt... can you spell U-S-F?) are what's killing landline service. A "recovery" fee for long-distance in order to NOT have a long-distance provider? Geez! | |
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| 
sivran
God Save The Suite
Premium
join:2003-09-15
Arlington, TX
clubs:
·RoadRunner Cable
·Comcast
| Base price for POTS here is $10/mo. Then they pile on the taxes and fees. I've had it for years.
Comparing base price, POTS is cheaper than Vonage. To get unlimited local you have to pay at least double, plus whatever taxes and fees are on a typical Vonage bill. Granted you get a few extra services with it. Last I looked Vonage started at $15/mo, for a limited plan.
I'll not be leaving my landline any time soon, even though I don't use it much at all:
* I'd rather have a phone that doesn't rely on my consumer-grade UPS.
* I'd rather have a phone that doesn't rely on my ISP. All throughout Southwestern Bell, SBC, and AT&T, my phone has worked without a hitch. If my phoneline's had any downtime, it didn't occur at a time I'd notice it. 100% uptime is something my ISP can only dream of.
* I've got um, other things to do with my upstream bandwidth. Yeah.
--
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon profitable cause... | |
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See 6 replies to this post |
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| BF69
join:2004-07-28
Camden, TN
| said by KrK :The reason Landlines are dying enmasse is because the Telco's don't or won't price them competitively given the new market paradigm. Personally, I'd love to have a plain old POTS line--- If the price wasn't so high. POTS lines, with all the fees and junk tacked on, are around $35 a month here... ie Base rate for no calling features (just dial tone) is around $20. So approx. $10-$15 of that price is fees, surcharges, USF, etc etc but still.... Give people a POTS line for $10 a month (incl. Caller ID, yadda, yadda, yadda) + fees and I think they'd do a lot better. Where I live you can get a POTS line form at&t no long distance plan no caller ID or anything for $17 tax and all total. Add caller ID with name and your total is about $27 a month. That's actually less than I was paying for Packet 8 after taxes and such were added. VOIP is only cheaper if you use a lot of long distance which I never use. | |
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KrK
Heavy Artillery For The Little Guy
Premium
join:2000-01-17
Tulsa, OK | Re: They still don't get it.... That's a good price.
Here, the basic line (POTS Dial-Tone) is about $35 a month, period. (Yes $15 or so is the fees.) | |
|
theDUDE
vote with your wallet
join:2008-05-10
Wytheville, VA
·HughesNet Satellit..
| I cancelled landline because... EMBARQ kept promising dsl but never delivered so i stopped giving them money for a service i don't need. I have a cell phone and when the power goes out i can still use it! I wonder what percentage of that 2,000 a day. I won't be an EMBARQ customer again until they actually spend some money on the infrastructure and offer me the dsl, without phone service would be preferred. Forcing your customer to bundled services is like a smack to the face. They don't like it.
I just can't help but think this could all be fixed by improving customer service and above all else spend some money on that infrastructure instead of wasting it on other things! | |
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See 9 replies to this post |
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Phil
Rojo Sol
Premium
join:2001-06-11
Camarillo, CA | No POTS here... Dropped Verizon about 3 weeks ago after piss poor service and high prices. Now using Vonage. | |
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| 
dadkins
Living on a Blu Planet
Premium,MVM
join:2003-09-26
Hercules, CA
·Comcast
edit:
July 22nd, @07:08PM
| Re: No POTS here... said by Phil :Dropped Verizon about 3 weeks ago after piss poor service and high prices. Now using Vonage. Dropped (then) SBC 16+ years ago for piss-poor service.
Went digital(AT&T).
Comcast bought out AT&T, cruiased along for a few more years, now on CDV.
Got the 10 hour battery with the eMTA.
Got two cells on different providers just incase.
Screw POTS!
NOTE: Living in a Block 50 area so power is restored pretty fast.
No worries!
--
Think outside the Fox... Opera | |
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NellyV
join:2008-07-07
Taunton, MA
| The Great Landline Exodus With stories like this it's no wonder why telcos are bundling in pots lines with other services...ie, dsl, or in my case Fios. The pots line cost me under $10/month with the triple play. If the price jumps too high after a year I'll be going to VOIP. | |
|
Foolish
@sbcglobal.net
| POTS The Internet and ancillaries is an eggshell, easily broken. Putting you eggs all in one basket (to coin an very old adage) is a big mistake. Kinda like getting all your news from the web (or cable TV). I consider myself a tech-savy user & will not drop POTS for cell-only or VOIP.
Keep your options open. Or ? | |
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tmc8080
join:2004-04-24
Floral Park, NY
| $15 just to walk in the door, AKA TAXES AND FEES! The $15 barrier just to pony up to a telecom for POTS is cost prohibitive these days when an unlimited voip phone line can cost only a few dollars more than that, provided you have a broadband connection or a cable dual play service. For all the negatives of having a VOIP service, the all mighty dollar will trump them nearly every time!
A non-comparable Voice service from a telco STARTS at around $40 per month non-bundled with few, if any features. This is what will kill the POTS industry. | |
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Skeedatl
Ah, push it - push it real good
Premium
join:2007-12-26
The Cloud | What else did they expect When they have bullcrap fees like the "you didn't use enough long distance" fee?
They actually think people would put up with being dollared to death? | |
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gtoken
join:2003-12-28
Fort Smith, AR | The reason at&t can die is..... because they are a total bunch of a-holes..... at&t formerly sbc.
at&t formerly Cingular may it live long and prosper. | |
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MrSpock29
join:2008-02-09
Hammonton, NJ
edit:
July 22nd, @06:53PM
| To correct the text at the top. Verizon did NOT leak anything.
»www.investorvillage.com/mbnews.a···d=480723
They filed an 8-k, which always accompanies a FORMAL announcement, as this adheres to Reg. FD.
I feel this is very important to clarify, as leaks are in the same light as rumors, which are at issue in some sectors especially, at the present time.
edit: here is a link that shows the televised interview on CNBC today.
»cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/···=4043681 | |
|
bobgwen
join:2001-07-07
Bartow, FL
·Comcast
| pots and shorelines response "It's a bit of a paradox, Joe consumer's options are
VOIP is good because it isn't POTS.
POTS still works when the power is cut.
VOIP does not work because it likely needs a router/network or working transmitter which goes with the power.
POTS has an advantage, but almost everyone nowadays with that uses a phone system that will only work when the power is on. Better have backup phone like I do."
I went through several hurricanes and the latest one was hurricane wilma and lost every utility except my pots line. My cell was out as well as all my neighbors cell phones. dsl was out so, so much for having voip during a power outage. cable was out. so much for their version of voip. Called the family up north to let them know we were ok over my pots line that worked perfectly during power outage which lasted for 2 weeks. I would love to tell verizon and at&t to take a hike and use T-mobile's $10.00 a month plan but being in a hurricane prone area I am leery to take that chance.
--
brought to you by Carl's Jr.
Esteban Colberto for President of Cuba | |
|
| n2ubp
join:2007-07-13
Middletown, NY
| Re: pots and shorelines response said by bobgwen :POTS still works when the power is cut. Maybe if you have a direct feed from the central office or brick switch house powered by battery and genset. If your POTS comes from a fridge sized box on the street corner that remote switch only lasts as long as it's batteries hold out.. again 4 to 8 hours depending on load. | |
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| |
lead cable man
@swbell.net | Re: pots and shorelines response Not true. Those RT sites are monitored so when the NOC gets an alarm that the battery system has kicked into gear they dispatch a technician who in turn can stay at that site and proved power via a generator until the power is restored. | |
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| | | dieman
Premium
join:2002-08-02
Minneapolis, MN
| Re: pots and shorelines response Bahahahah. Bahahahaha. Bahahahaha.
Last time that happened here POTS was down for at least a day. My neighbors tell me that at least. Embarq just didn't have enough generators to go around for the amount of damage in the area. They had the gall to send out great flyers about how reliable they are after that.
You know what works all the time? My amateur radio. If I can't get the Amateur Radio working, I'll get worried, otherwise I'm not going to bother trying to get any of this telco or internet stuff 'reliable', because we honestly don't have any utility companies anymore that give much of a crap. Xcel told us that some outages we had in the last week (17k~ customers) was due to 'demand', not equipment failure. Yarg. | |
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The Great Landline Exodus Continues
