Slashdot Mirror
The Decline of the Landline
Death Metal writes "The phone network is thus not just a technical infrastructure, but a socioeconomic one. The more Americans abandon it to go mobile-only or make phone calls over the Internet, the more fragile it becomes: its high fixed costs have to be spread over ever fewer subscribers. If the telephone network in New York State were a stand-alone business, it would already be in bankruptcy. In recent years it has lost 40% of its landlines and revenues have dropped by more than 30%."
how do you get back out of the Matrix?
Karma fed to this user will be promptly burnt. Be warned; be wary.
Kill it with fiber!
Grandpa still used the outhouse.
Man. I hate SBC/AT&T as much as the next guy, but even I think that metaphore was pretty harsh...
Can't audio data from cell phones be sent and received in mp3 format? It would improve quality immeasurably by using a digital format like this surely?
Why OpalCalc is the best Windows calc
Nonsense, ham radio is far superior than land line, it gives the sound quality an earthly vibrant texture, unlike the harsh undertones of the land line.
I don't know how many times Stephen Hawking has called trying to sell me a super collidor, a neutrino detector or some such thing. I keep telling him, "No, I don't have $5B! And stop calling me during dinner!"
Some of what I say is fact, some is conjecture, the rest I'm just blowing out my ass...you guess.