Verizon's proposal to retire copper landlines in 10 US jurisdictions includes a location-specific fallback: it says it would restore and maintain copper service if an approved alternative is unavailable within a month of transition.
The FCC has not begun reviewing the proposal, and Verizon says customers without a suitable alternative will remain on copper.
In September, the company filed a proposal with the Federal Communications Commission to eliminate these networks in ten areas: California, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
In a new filing, Verizon said it sent a letter to all its fixed-line copper customers who do not have access to a suitable alternative under the proposal. The company did not say how many customers that is.
For the rest, Verizon says it will provide detailed notice before it removes copper in their area. The replacement will be with a service approved by the Commission, such as fiber or cellular. If the alternative service is not available in the customer's location within a month of the transition, the company says it will restore the copper phone connection and maintain it until a suitable solution is found and available.
↳
READ ALSO
HACKS.GR / RELATED
Digital Life
Smart locks: How they work and what to look out for before buying them
↗
The Commission has not yet begun reviewing the proposal. Consumers are asking it to block it because they are concerned that mobile service is unreliable in their area. A New York resident told the Commission that mobile service in his area is unreliable and that, without a landline, he may not be able to contact his family or call 911 in a medical emergency.
Verizon says it will use a variety of ways to test how strong the signal is and how many customers the network replacing copper can serve. A couple in West Virginia told the commission they fear the alternative service won’t work if the power or internet connection goes out. Verizon says the equipment it provides for fiber-optic and fixed wireless connections has battery backup.
>Stay connected with Hacks.gr
Set us as a preferred source on Google and find us on social media.
Preferred source
↗
end of article
Top comments (0)