# Telecomm sell off



## user4818 (Jan 15, 2009)

I read a statistic somewhere that 100,000 land lines are abandoned every month in the U.S. Doesn't seem like the business to be in anymore. :no:


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## mikeh32 (Feb 16, 2009)

ummm. att does this already


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## mattsilkwood (Sep 21, 2008)

I haven't had a land line in years.


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## randomkiller (Sep 28, 2007)

We dropped the landline a few months ago and haven't missed it yet. I guess if you lived in an area prone to severe storms the 48v could come in handy at times. 
I know that Verizon in my work area has been doing less and less upkeep on their buildings and equipment. And I see more and more rented out space in their central officies to small vendors.


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## regieleeroth (Feb 27, 2009)

Fiber is a long way off from the universal connectivity copper enjoys. Did read that article, and it's pretty shoddy corporate behavior to leave so many variables and question marks after this sale.
But Verizon is pushing fiber big-time, evidenced to just me by the 2 or 3 phone calls weekly, mail offers DAILY, and the obligatory sales pitch if and when you call customer service... oh and every other commercial on TV. 80 bucks a month? Cut your mailing in half, stop paying some yoyo to call everyone in the country 24-7, and charge 50 bucks a month. I might listen to 'em then.


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## user4818 (Jan 15, 2009)

regieleeroth said:


> 80 bucks a month? Cut your mailing in half, stop paying some yoyo to call everyone in the country 24-7, and charge 50 bucks a month. I might listen to 'em then.


Only $80 a month for FIOS? 

It started out at $100 a month when they first introduced it here, now it's up to $120, plus equipment rental and of course taxes and fees, which puts it up around $140+/month depending on how many receivers you need to rent.


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## oldman (Mar 30, 2007)

when the offshoot goes bankrupt, it frees them up to renegotiate with the union...or end run the union...


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## regieleeroth (Feb 27, 2009)

Peter D said:


> Only $80 a month for FIOS?
> 
> It started out at $100 a month when they first introduced it here, now it's up to $120, plus equipment rental and of course taxes and fees, which puts it up around $140+/month depending on how many receivers you need to rent.


Actually 69 for 1st 3 months, then 79 for remaing 21 months of 2-yr. agreement. I'm sure I have friggin' mailer for it here somewhere...


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## MDShunk (Jan 7, 2007)

I signed up for Comcast triple play back in the beginning and I'm locked in at 99 bucks a month. Pretty sweet deal. I think now, normally, it's only 129.


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## user4818 (Jan 15, 2009)

MDShunk said:


> I signed up for Comcast triple play back in the beginning and I'm locked in at 99 bucks a month. Pretty sweet deal. I think now, normally, it's only 129.


For fiber optic service or cable?


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## brian john (Mar 11, 2007)

I understand the unions point BUT from a business stand point Verizon is selling what they see as old technology, sell it now and make some cash in lieu of just scraping it later. To them it is all business, with no regards to employees or local communities.

My first apartment when I got out of high school was a two bedroom $115.00 a month, now I pay more than that for TV, phone and internet with Fios


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## TOOL_5150 (Aug 27, 2007)

I would never waste bandwidth on a telephone line. In my area, pots lines have gone down once in the 27 years I have been alive. It would just be my luck, the robber breaks into my house the only time my internet line is down, so no cops ever get called and makes away with thousands of dollars worth of stuff.

I dont think so. Ill keep my landline.

~Matt


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## MisterCMK (Jul 5, 2009)

I don't see landlines going away entirely any time soon. Think of how many fax machines, alarm systems and modems are out there. We have a number of customers who use modems to dial out to their buildings and update the card access databases. For every fire alarm system that is monitored we use 2 analog lines. While IP communications is starting to become more popular, you can't beat the reliability of a pair of phone lines (yet).


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## brian john (Mar 11, 2007)

MisterCMK said:


> I don't see landlines going away entirely any time soon. Think of how many fax machines, alarm systems and modems are out there. We have a number of customers who use modems to dial out to their buildings and update the card access databases. For every fire alarm system that is monitored we use 2 analog lines. While IP communications is starting to become more popular, you can't beat the reliability of a pair of phone lines (yet).


 
And fiber and wireless willl take up the slack.


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## chenley (Feb 20, 2007)

MisterCMK said:


> I don't see landlines going away entirely any time soon. Think of how many fax machines, alarm systems and modems are out there. We have a number of customers who use modems to dial out to their buildings and update the card access databases. For every fire alarm system that is monitored we use 2 analog lines. While IP communications is starting to become more popular, you can't beat the reliability of a pair of phone lines (yet).


I agree with that, a lot of business' are moving to VoIP although keeping a phone line for fire/alarm callouts from the alarm system. Also if you look at how much rural area in the United States without broadband access these people/business' phone/DSL is their only option even with satellite internet since the uplink still uses a modem. 

Although I didn't read the article that the OP is talking about, Verizon is most likely just selling off phone lines in urban and suburban areas and keeping the rural it currently has. 

Phone lines will make themselves disappear with the economics of supply/demand. The newest latest/greatest technology that is already hitting the market that will make 4G networks (which just came out) obsolete is the WiMAX technology which is already being implemented in large urban areas as testing grounds. 

Read a book over the Summer, I forget the name but it was the history of the telecommunications industry from start until around 2005, mainly about AT&T. The most interesting part of the book was about the 90's where telecommunications companies were laying hundreds of miles of fiber/telco line to keep up with future speculated demands. Then a new form of multiplexing to put for information across the lines almost made lines bandwidth something like 20x more than it originally was. This in turn rendered most of the lines laid useless and only something like 10-15% of the telephone lines that are out there are in use today. 

Here's that book: http://books.google.com/books?id=3m...ry+of+technology,+policy#v=onepage&q=&f=false


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## al13nw4r3LC76 (Apr 6, 2009)

mxtek said:


> ***removed***


emailing for an to see you're rates right now.


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