Those still using landline telephones will soon have to decide if they want to finally cut that cord. The departure of landlines into history due to technological advancements is currently being hindered by nostalgics and citizens' habits of having that option, thus this type of service will disappear.
Last week, the American company AT&T filed for an exemption that would allow it to stop servicing traditional landline telephones in California. AT&T and Verizon have previously stated their intention to be fully operational on newer infrastructure in the coming years.
This is part of a comprehensive move by telephone service providers to replace older telephone system lines based on copper wire, known as POTS, with faster and more advanced technology that doesn't work with landline phones.
Providers around the world are moving towards offering optical cables and internet access, withdrawing older equipment, including the copper wires themselves. The process is also underway in France and the UK.
Consumers will need to decide whether to give up their landline phones or potentially face higher costs due to complex, expensive solutions from telephone companies. Alternatives may not be as reliable as old-fashioned landline phones, and the process of replacing old equipment with new ones could be a huge undertaking.
As part of the change, US service providers are required to offer customers an alternative to landline phones and use devices to convert analog signals into digital ones, either via optical cables or wireless technology such as LTE/5G.
In the United States, the shift away from copper landline phones will likely affect people over 65 and small business owners.
This will also affect hospitals, clinics, and medical practices. Conversions, which will cost customers between $200 and $400, will also need to be coordinated with any analog alarms and emergency call boxes within elevators.
One analysis shows that by 2030, only about 5 percent of landline phones will remain. But to remove all of them, "it could take longer—decades."
Over the years, the Federal Communications Commission has allowed telephone companies to charge less to encourage more people to switch to Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) systems, which support voice integration with other internet-based services.
The cost of fixed wireless access typically amounts to around $69 per month, while internet costs around $100.
From copper wires to voice over the internet
There are several major challenges with the complete elimination of landline phones and accompanying equipment, says Vil McCain-White, a senior analyst at Forrester Research.
For example, not all buildings with landline systems know where their equipment is located-some are cemented to factory walls or kept in hard-to-reach rooms. Since telephone service workers will need to be deployed during the removal process, this could prolong the completion time.
"Landline phones are slowly being removed and replaced, but it's a spectrum, and it's difficult to calculate the volume of copper wire devices because of the variety of shapes they have and the fact that organizations seem to discover dozens of these devices during replacement operations," McCain-White explains.
Additionally, sometimes copper wires can be more reliable than VoIP services because copper-based systems can still function even when power is out, unlike internet-based systems. Rural areas also often lack reliable high-speed internet services.
*AI-translated
